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THE  HISTORY  OF  NATIONS 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE  ,Ph.D.,LLD.  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 


SPAIN 


AND 

PORTUGAL 

Erdited  from  Standard  Authorities 

by 

G.ME.RCI:R  ADAM 

With  Introduction  by 
WILFRED  M   MUNRO  .  Ph.D. 
Professor  of  History 
Brown  University 

Volume    VIII 


Illustrated 


The  H  .W.  Snow  and  Son  Company 

Chi    c    a    9"     o 


Copyright,  1907.  by 
JOHN  D.  MORRIS  &  COMPANY 

Copyright.  IKJO 
THE  H.  W.  SXOW  &  SOX  COMPANY 


THE   HISTORY   OF  NATIONS 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  PLD.,  L.L.D. 

Associate  Editors  and  Authors 

ARCHIBALD  HENRY  SAYCE,  LL.D.,  SIR  ROBERT  K.  DOUGLAS, 

Professor     of     Assyriology,     Oxford     Uni-  Professor  of  Chinese,   King's  College,  Lon- 

versity  don 

JEREMIAH  WHIPPLE  JENKS,  Ph.D..  LL.D.. 
CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON.  M.D.,  Ph.D..  Professor  of   Political   Economy  and    Pol- 

Associate  Professor  of  Oriental  History  and  itics,  Cornell  University 

Archaeology,  Johns   Hopkins   University 

KANICHI  ASAKAWA.  Ph.D., 

<-   nr   <^   m>i>iu    r  t  T^  Instructor    in    the    History    of    Japanese 

C.  W.  C.  OMAN,  LL.D.,  Civilization,  Yale  University 


Professor  of  History.  Oxford  University 


WILFRED  HAROLD  MUNRO.  Ph.D.. 


THEODOR  MOMMSEN.  ^'universit°y    ^"'°P^^"    ^'''°'''''     ^^"'^^ 


G.  MERCER  ADAM. 

Historian  and  Editor 


Late   Professor  of   Ancient    History.    Uni- 
versity of  Berlin 


ARTHUR  C.  HOWLAND,  Ph.D.. 

°?y1v'anfa  '  °^  "''""■'''  '^"'^^''^''^  °^  '''""-        FRED  MORROW  FLING.  Ph.D.. 

Professor  of  European  History,   University 
of  Nebraska 

CHARLES  MERIVALE,  LL.D., 

Late    Dean   of    Ely,    formerly    Lecturer   in        FRANCOIS  AUGUSTS  MARIE  MIGNET, 
History,  Cambridge  University  Late  Member  of  the  French  -Academy 

JAMES  WESTFALL  THOMPSON,  Ph.D., 
J.  HIGGINSON  CABOT.  Ph.D.,  Department     of     History.     Uinversity     of 

Department  of    History,  Wellesley   College  Chicago 

SAMUEL  RAWSON  GARDINER.  LL.D., 
SIR  WILLIAM  W.  HUNTER.  F.R.S..  Professor  of   Modern    History.    King's  Col- 

Late  Director-General  of  Statistic*;  in  India  lege.  London 

R.  W.  JOYCE,  LL.D., 
GEORGB  M.  DUTCHER,  Ph.D.,  Commissioner   for   the   Publication   of   the 

Professor  of  History,  Wesleyan    University  Ancient  Laws  of  Ireland 


ASSOCIATE  EDITORS  AND   AUTHORS-Continued 


josTiN  McCarthy,  ll.d.. 

Author  and  Historian 


PAUL  LOUIS  LEGER, 

Professor  of  the  Slav  Languages,   C611eso 
de  France 


AUGUSTUS  HUNT  SHEARER,  Ph.D.. 

Instructor    in     History,     Trinity    College.        WILLIAM  E.  LINSLEBACH,  Ph.D., 

Hartford  Assistant  Professor  of  European   History, 

University  of  Pennsylvania 

W.  HAROLD  CLAFLIN,  B.A., 

Department    of     History.     Harvard    Uni-       BAYARD  TAYLOR, 


versity 


Former  United  States  Minister  to  Germany 


CHARLES  DANDLIKER,  LL.D-, 

President  of  Zurich  University 


SIDNEY  B.  FAY,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of   History,    Dartmouth   Colleg* 


ELBERT  JAY  BENTON.  Ph.D.. 

Department  of  History,   Western  Reserve 
University 


SIR  EDWARD  S.  CREASY. 

Late  Professor  of  History,  University  Col- 
lege, London 


ARCHIBALD  GARY  COOLIDGE,  Ph.D., 

Assistant    Professor   of    History,    Harvard 
University 


WILLIAM  RICHARD  MORFILL,  M.A., 

Professor   of    Russian    and    other   Slavonic 
Languages,  Oxford  University 


CHARLES  EDMUND  FRYER,  Ph.D., 

Department  of  History,  McGill  University 

E.  C.  OTTE, 

Specialist  on  Scandinavian  History 


J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D., 

President  Royal  Geographical  Society 


ALBERT  GALLOWAY  KELLER,  Ph.D., 

Assistant   Professor  of  the  Science  of  So- 
ciety, Yale  University 


EDWARD  JAMES  PAYNE,  M.A., 

Fellow  of  University  College,  Oxford 


PHILIP  PATTERSON  WELLS,  Ph.D., 

Lecturer  in   History  and  Librarian  of  the 
Law  School,  Vale  University 


FREDERICK  ALBION  OBER, 

Historian,  Author  and  Traveler 


JAMES  WILFORD  GARNER,  Ph.D., 

Professor  of   Political   Science,   Univeraity 
of  Hlinois 


EDWARD  S.  CORWIN,  Ph.D., 

Instructor     in     History,     Princeton     Vni- 
versity 


JOHN  BACH  McMASTER,  Litt.D.,  LL.D., 

Professor  of  History,  University  of  Paan- 
sylvania 


JAMES   LAMONT  PERKINS,   Managinif  Editor 


The  editors  and  publishers  desire  to  express  their  appreciation  for  valuable 
advice  and  suggestions  received  from  the  following:  Hon.  Andrew  D.  Vv'hite, 
LL.D.,  Alfred  Thayer  Mah.'\n,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  Hon.  Charles  Emory  Smith, 
LL.D.,  Professor  Edward  Gaylord  Bourne,  Ph.D.,  Charles  F.  Thwing, 
LL.D.,  Dr.  Emil  Reich,  William  Elliot  Gkiffis,  LL.D.,  Professor  John 
Martin  Vincent,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Melvil  Dewey,  LL.D.,  Alston  PZllis,  LL.D., 
Professor  Charles  H.  McCarthy,  Ph.D.,  Professor  Herman  V.  A.mes,  Ph.D., 
Professor  Walter  L.  Fleming,  Ph.D.,  Professor  David  Y.  Thomas,  Ph.D., 
Mr.  Otto  Reich  and  Mr.  ().  M.  Dickerson. 


INTRODUCTION 
SPAIN     PAST     AND     PRESENT 

By    Wilfred    Harold     Munro,    Pii.    D. 
Professor  of  History,  Brown  University 


INTRODUCTION 

SPAIN     PAST  AND  PRESENT 

FROM  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era  to  the  dose  of  the 
fifteenth  century  the  history  of  the  Iberian  Peninsula  is 
wonderfully  rich  in  romantic  incident.  Of  this  earlier  period 
most  readers  know  little.  With  the  Spain  oi  the  "  Catholic 
kings,"  of  Charles  V.  and  of  Philip  II.  they  are  familiar,  because 
authors  like  Irving  and  Prescott  have  reproduced  the  "  form  and 
pressure  "  of  those  times  in  their  fascinating  pages.  With  just  as 
much  fidelity,  Dunham  has  written  of  the  earlier  Spain.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  preface  is  to  call  attention  to  the  points  which  he  has 
clearly  brought  out,  and  also  to  show  the  gradual  development  of  the 
Spanish  character  and  to  indicate  briefly  the  possibilities  yet  in 
store  for  the  land. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  Roman  domination.  An  incident  in 
connection  with  the  Roman  conquest  will  illustrate  the  character 
of  the  people  at  that  time.  Saint  Augustine,  greatest  of  all  the 
early  Christian  writers,  deems  it  worthy  of  mention  in  his  "  City 
of  God."  The  legions  conquered  only  w^hen  they  occupied  the 
land.  For  six  years  Numantia  defied  them.  Then  the  stern  edict, 
"  Dclcnda  est  Numantia,"  was  proclaimed,  and  Scipio,  Rome's 
greatest  general,  was  sent  against  the  city.  His  genius  brought 
about  its  destruction,  but  its  defenders  were  conquered  only  by 
starvation.  When  the  skeletons  who  patrolled  the  walls  found 
they  could  no  longer  repel  the  attacking  forces  they  resolved  upon 
self-slaughter.  First  they  set  fire  to  the  buildings  of  the  city,  and 
then  cast  themselves  into  the  flames.  Numantia  has  vanished 
from  the  earth.  It  exists  only  in  legends,  yet  its  story  has  in- 
fluenced mightily  the  character  of  the  Spanish  race.  That  the 
story  is  still  potent  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  one  of  the 
best  warships  in  the  Spanish  navy  to-day  bears  the  name  Nninantia. 

Rome  erred  in  treating  its  provincials  as  a  conquered  peo- 
ple, a  mistake  which  Spain  has  constantly  repeated  in  her  colonies. 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

Yet  some  of  the  provincials  rose  to  the  highest  position  in  the 
Roman  state.  The  first  to  sit  upon  the  imperial  throne  was  the 
Spanish  Trajan,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  "  Good  Emperors." 
The  last  monarch  to  reign  over  an  undivided  Roman  world  was 
the  Spanish  Theodosius.  In  him  we  see  many  of  the  traits  that 
still  characterize  the  nation.  He  was  passionate  but  devout, 
bigoted  yet  noble  minded.  In  ungovernable  rage  he  ordered  the 
horrible  massacre  at  Thessalonica,  yet  with  great  nobility  he,  the 
"  Lord  of  the  World,"  humbled  himself  before  Saint  Ambrose, 
when  that  great  bishop  of  Milan  showed  him  the  enormity  of  his 
crime.  The  ideas  of  Theodosius  governed  many  of  the  Spanish 
monarchs.  He  was  really  the  first  "  Inquisitor,"  and  his  edicts 
concerning  heresy  might  have  been  penned  by  Philip  II.  In  the 
days  of  that  emperor  the  people  of  Spain  had  become  completely 
Romanized.  They  fought  as  soldiers  in  the  legions,  were  found 
in  the  offices  of  the  state,  had  entered  the  ranks  of  the  priesthood. 
Then  the  Vandals  came  down  upon  the  land  and  conquered 
it  almost  without  a  struggle.  The  old  fighting  spirit  had  well- 
nigh  disappeared.  Five  causes  had  brought  about  this  result: 
First,  the  unwise  system  of  taxation.  The  taxes  were  "  farmed  " 
by  the  publicans,  as  elsewhere  in  the  empire,  and  individual  inde- 
pendence was  thereby  crushed  out.  Second,  the  Latifundia. 
These  "  broad  fields  "  were  held  by  a  few  owners  and  were  tilled 
not  by  a  "  brave  peasantry,"  but  by  serfs.  Third,  the  legions. 
The  men  who  took  service  in  them  never  came  back.  Disease, 
wounds,  and  dissipation  carried  them  to  their  death.  Fourth, 
slavery.  The  fifth  and  most  potent  cause  was  Christianity.  The 
best  men  were  found  within  the  walls  of  the  churches.  Enrolled 
as  servants  of  the  Cross,  they  did  no  military  service.  Happily 
the  domination  of  tlie  Vandals  was  short.  The  regions  about 
Carthage  (whence  other  conquerors  of  Spain  were  to  come)  had 
for  them  greater  attractions.  Their  stay  is  commemorated  in  the 
name  Andalusia  and  in  not  much  else.  Far  otherwise  was  it  with 
the  Visigoths.  Ataulphus,  the  "  Moses "  who  only  showed  to 
them  the  land  he  was  not  permitted  to  dwell  in,  was  their  chief. 
To  him  not  a  few  Spaniards  look  as  to  a  model  knight-errant.  In 
him  they  saw  displayed  the  chivalrous  characteristics  they  would 
fain  possess.  This  "  Barbarian's "  treatment  of  Galla  Placidia, 
his  fair  Roman  bride,  was  such  as  would  do  honor  to  the  highest 
type  of  gentleman.     No  wonder  that  the  proudest  boast  of  tlie 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

Spanish  noble  is  still  the  Sangre  Azul,  the  "  blue  blood,"  he  in- 
herits from  his  Visigothic  ancestors.  Strangely  enough  the  stay 
of  the  Visigoths  is  perpetuated  in  a  word  which  gives  an  entirely 
erroneous  impression  concerning  their  character — the  word 
"  bigot."  Originally  this  meant  a  detested  foreigner  as  well  as  a 
heretic.  Because  they  were  Arian  Christians  the  Visigoths  were 
heretics  to  the  orthodox  people  about  them;  but  they  were  never 
bigots  in  our  sense  of  the  word.  Having  once  settled  in  the  land 
they  gradually  became  amalgamated  with  its  inhabitants.  Com- 
mon hatred  of  the  Moor  at  last  welded  them  together.  Two  traits 
especially  marked  these  invaders :  their  love  for  fighting  and 
their  regard  for  written  laws.  When  the  evil  trait  was  conquered 
by  the  good  the  race  perished!  Subject  to  written  laws,  the  war- 
riors surrendered  to  the  priesthood.  The  Visigothic  element  was 
perhaps  the  most  potent  in  shaping  Spanish  character. 

Then  came  the  Mohammedan  conquest.  Its  story  reads  like 
a  wild  romance.  First  Tarik  appears  upon  the  scene.  With  five 
hundred  followers  *'  more  wicked  than  himself "  this  brigand 
crosses  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar  and  riots  in  the  rich  fields  along 
its  northern  shore.  Nothing  is  farther  from  his  thoughts  than 
the  establishment  of  a  new  kingdom.  Going  back  to  his  own,  he 
displays  the  spoils  of  his  foray,  and  tells  of  the  rich  lands  Allah 
has  prepared  for  their  swords.  Then  the  hero  of  the  romance 
appears  with  twelve  thousand  Moors.  Tarik  lands  near  the  rock 
which  still  bears  his  name.  He  burns  his  ships  behind  him,  and 
in  one  battle  routs  Roderic  and  his  more  than  sixty  thousand  men. 
The  Visigothic  king  had  apparently  every  advantage,  yet  his  ad- 
versary wiped  away  all  traces  of  his  power.  In  the  tale  of  the  con- 
quest there  were  some  redeeming  incidents.  Of  all  the  men  in 
Orihuela  only  its  governor  and  a  single  page  were  left.  Women 
masqueraded  as  sentinels  upon  the  walls.  With  his  one  attendant 
the  governor  rode  into  the  camp  of  his  foes  and  arranged  honor- 
able terms  of  capitulation.  The  Moorish  commander  was 
charmed  by  this  resourceful  daring.  He  not  only  scrupulously 
carried  out  the  terms  agreed  upon,  but  made  Theodemir  governor 
of  iMurcia. 

The  Spaniards  learned  much  of  courtesy  from  the  Moors, 
and  the  rule  of  the  IMoor  was  easy.  His  laws  were  few,  his  taxes 
were  light ;  he  tolerated  all  religions — even  the  Jews  were  accorded 
religious  and  civil  liberty.     So,  cut  off  from  frequent  communica- 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

tion  with  the  rest  of  Christian  Europe,  Spanish  Christianity  de- 
veloped along  lines  that  were  peculiarly  its  own.  The  Christians 
came  to  be  called  Mozarabs,  and  mass  was  celebrated  according 
to  the  Gothic  ritual  (as  it  is  even  to  this  day,  four  times  each 
year,  in  one  of  the  chapels  of  the  great  Cathedral  of  Toledo). 
The  conquerors  divided  with  the  conquered  the  use  of  the  churches. 
They  even  bought  from  the  Christians  the  basilicas  they  sometimes 
wished  to  convert  into  Mohammedan  mosques. 

Happily  the  northward  march  of  the  Moslem  hosts  w^as 
checked  at  Tours.  The  unwisdom  of  any  further  attempt  at  con- 
quest in  that  direction  having  been  demonstrated,  the  Moslem 
leaders  set  about  developing  the  territory  already  won.  The  king- 
dom of  Cordova  straightway  became  the  marvel  of  those  ages, 
as  it  would  have  been  the  wonder  of  any  age.  Its  rulers  governed 
as  did  the  "  Good  Emperors  "  in  Rome,  and  its  citizens  enjoyed  a 
greater  degree  of  personal  liberty  than  any  other  people  of 
Europe.  The  first  of  the  great  monarchs  who  influenced  not 
Christian  Spain  only,  but  the  Christian  world,  was  Abderahman, 
a  contemporary  of  Charlemagne,  king  of  the  Franks.  His  realm 
was  not  too  large  for  personal  government,  and  he  accordingly 
gave  his  personal  attention  to  all  the  business  of  the  state. 
Toward  enemies  of  his  own  faith  he  was  fierce  and  cruel,  but  was 
always  kind  and  lenient  toward  his  Christian  subjects.  In  the 
reign  of  Hisham,  his  successor,  a  man  beloved  of  all  men,  the 
Mezquita  was  begun,  and  the  bridge  which  still  spans  the  Guadal- 
quiver  River  was  finished.  Where  now  the  great  cathedral  stands 
had  once  been  a  Christian  basilica.  For  many  years  Moor  and 
Christian  used  it  in  common.  When  a  grander  structure  was  de- 
termined upon  by  the  conquerors,  they  bought  out  their  Christian 
neighbors.  He  who  sees  the  building  to-day  can  have  but  a  faint 
idea  of  its  ancient  splendor.  In  the  days  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
V.  the  cathedral  chapter  pulled  down  many  of  its  columns  that 
they  might  erect  in  the  center  of  the  structure  a  very  ordinary 
Christian  church,  and  yet,  disfigured  as  it  is,  it  is  one  of  the 
grandest  church  edifices  in  the  world.  Abderahman  H.  made  of 
Cordova  a  second  Bagdad.  When  the  cities  of  northern  Europe 
were  hardly  more  than  collections  of  hovels,  Cordova  was  filled 
with  palaces.  Through  its  well-lighted  and  well-paved  streets  a 
man  could  walk  for  miles  without  soiling  the  hem  of  his  garment, 
in  the  years  when  the  people  of  Paris  went  staggering  in  darkness 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

through  mud  that  clasped  the  ankles.  No  unarmed  man  ventured 
forth  alone  after  nightfall  in  the  streets  of  Paris  or  London;  but 
Mohammedan,  Christian,  and  Jew  knew  no  fear  in  the  Moorish 
capital.  When  the  Christians  in  the  north  hardly  realized  that  a 
bath  was  ever  to  be  taken,  except  as  a  penance,  the  aqueducts  of 
Cordova  were  each  day  bringing  rivers  within  the  city  walls,  and 
its  people  were  reveling  in  the  delights  that  come  from  cleanliness. 
Later,  when  Christian  conquered  Moor,  all  this  was  changed.  The 
streets  no  longer  ran  with  water,  aqueducts  fell  into  disuse,  foun- 
tains ceased  to  play,  the  orange  trees  and  flowering  shrubs  that 
had  made  the  courtyards  beautiful  died  from  lack  of  moisture; 
the  highways  were  no  longer  cared  for.  Save  the  great  mosque 
and  the  bridge  no  traces  of  its  ancient  glories  remain.  The  last 
of  its  fountains  was  destroyed  by  Philip  IL,  once  the  husband  of 
Mary  Tudor,  in  the  days  when  Mary's  sister,  Elizabeth,  sat  upon 
the  throne  of  England. 

Abderahman  III.,  who  died  in  961,  was  one  of  the  great  men 
of  history.  His  influence  was  potent  for  years  after  his  death. 
He  ruled  as  did  Louis  XL  of  France,  choosing  men  of  humble 
birth  as  his  agents.  As  these  men  owed  their  advancement  en- 
tirely to  him,  he  found  in  them  most  efficient  servants.  Like  Louis, 
he  also  formed  a  bodyguard  of  foreigners,  a  guard  even  more  de- 
voted to  him  than  Louis'  Scotchmen  were  to  the  French  king. 
Deeds  of  cruelty  are  charged  against  him  by  the  Christian  histor- 
ians, but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  had  cruel  foes  to  deal 
with,  and  that  we  know  him  almost  entirely  through  his  foes. 
The  Christian  barbarians  against  whom  he  fought  in  Leon  nailed 
the  head  of  one  of  his  defeated  generals  upon  a  wall  and  beside  it 
they  nailed  the  head  of  a  pig.  Such  antagonists  would  not  be 
likely  to  speak  well  of  a  man.  The  fact  stands  that  he  influenced 
mightily  the  character  of  his  adversaries  and  that  under  him  Cor- 
dova became  one  of  the  great  centers  of  civilization.  Historians 
are  fond  of  comparing  him  with  Charlemagne,  but  he  was  a 
greater  man  than  Karl.  The  northern  king  ruled  over  a  race  of 
barbarians.  He  was  the  only  prince  in  a  long"  line  who  really 
showed  indications  of  ideas  akin  to  those  of  modern  times.  The 
southern  monarch  was  only  one  of  a  line  of  enlightened  rulers. 
In  the  realms  of  the  man  who  on  Christmas  Day.  800.  was 
crowned  emperor  at  Rome  there  was  no  edifice  which  could  for 
a  moment  be  compared  with  Ez  Zahra,  the  wonderful  palace  on 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

the  banks  of  the  Guadalquiver.  The  famous  "  School  of  the 
Palace  "  at  Aachen  was  far  inferior  to  the  Moslem  schools  at  Cor- 
dova. Hakam  II.,  Abderahman's  successor,  was  like  the  most 
famous  of  the  Medici  in  his  zeal  for  learning.  Not  only  did  he 
possess  the  largest  library  of  his  day,  but  he  actually  read  his 
books.  His  passion  was  not  that  of  the  book  collector.  He  loved 
learning  for  its  own  sake,  and  was  accustomed  to  carry  a  number 
of  his  favorite  volumes  with  him  upon  all  his  campaigns. 

Of  Almanzor,  his  successor,  marvelous  stories  are  told.  His 
resources  were  endless,  no  difficulties  seemed  to  trouble  him.  One 
instance  will  suffice  for  illustration.  Once  upon  a  foray  in  an 
unfamiliar  country  he  found  his  troops  enclosed  within  a  defile 
which  had  but  one  possible  outlet.  This  was  already  blocked  by 
the  enemy.  Provisions  to  support  his  troops  were  lacking.  Ap- 
parently his  fate  was  sealed,  and  his  foes  were  correspondingly 
elated.  To  the'ir  amazement  they  saw  his  troops  begin  the  culti- 
vation of  the  fields  about  them.  And  to  the  emissaries  who  came 
to  demand  his  surrender  Amanzor  calmly  made  answer  that  as 
the  season  was  so  far  advanced,  and  as  his  own  land  was  so  dis- 
tant, he  had  determined  to  winter  where  he  was.  No  wonder 
that  his  antagonists  eagerly  furnished  him  all  necessary  supplies 
in  order  to  rid  themselves  of  the  pressure  of  such  an  incompre- 
hensible foe.  The  Christian  scribe  later  disposed  of  him  in  con- 
cise language.     "  In  1002  died  Almanzor,  and  was  buried  in  hell." 

The  long  contest  with  men  like  these,  who  were  so  much 
superior  in  many  ways  to  the  rulers  of  Christian  Europe,  in- 
fluenced mightily  the  character  of  the  Spanish  race.  We  see  that 
most  perfectly  idealized  in  the  "  Cid."  The  story  of  this  famous 
champion,  with  his  steed  Babieca  and  his  sword  Tizona,  has  been 
familiar  for  centuries  to  the  youth  in  all  lands.  The  real  Cid  was 
a  freebooter.  Ruthless  and  cruel,  he  plundered  Moor  and 
Christian  alike,  as  did  all  the  robbers  of  those  days.  No  man  was 
less  worthy  to  be  canonized  as  a  national  hero,  yet  the  people 
endowed  him  with  all  the  virtues  they  wished  their  champion  to 
exemplify,  and  set  their  "perfect  one"  upon  a  pedestal  that  all 
mankind  might  bow  in  admiration  before  him.  This  was  because 
the  real  Cid  had  in  his  day  asserted  the  rights  of  the  individual 
against  both  lord  and  king.  "  The  person  of  the  Cid  is  a  paean 
of  triumphant  democracy."  The  legends  told  respecting  the 
champion   illustrate  the   ideas  of  the  time.     From  the  chest  still 


INTRODUCTION  xvli 

nailed  against  the  wall  of  one  of  the  chapels  of  the  Burgos 
Cathedral  are  reflected  the  sentiments  entertained  toward  the 
Jews.  This  chest,  the  Cid  told  some  Jewish  money-lenders,  was 
filled  with  jewels.  He  proposed  to  leave  it  with  them  as  security 
for  money  borrowed.  It  was  filled  with  sand.  To  plunder  the 
Hebrew  was  meritorious  in  the  sight  of  all  men. 

The  crusade  against  the  Moors  served  to  increase  the  zeal 
of  an  intensely  religious  people,  a  people  always  remarkable  for 
orthodoxy.  No  heresies  have  ever  flourished  among  them.  Even 
in  the  days  when  Europe  was  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  move- 
ment with  which  Luther's  name  is  connected,  hardly  a  ripple  of 
excitement  was  felt  in  Spain.  The  national  reputation  for  ortho- 
doxy goes  back  to  the  first  council  of  the  Christian  church.  In  the 
Council  of  Nicaea,  325  a.  d.,  Hosius,  Bishop  of  Cordova,  was  the 
leading  western  ecclesiastic.  To  him  the  Emperor  Constantine 
especially  looked  for  instruction  and  guidance.  The  Eastern 
church  was  torn  by  schisms  and  the  supremacy  of  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  was  not  universally  recognized.  Until  that  supremacy  was 
established  men  turned  to  Cordova,  to  Sevilla,  and  to  Toledo  for 
authoritative  interpretation  of  the  Christian  doctrines.  It  was  not 
entirely  an  accident,  therefore,  that  the  clause  "  filioque "  was 
first  inserted  in  the  Nicene  creed  at  the  Council  of  Toledo,  589. 
Later  the  mantle  of  Hosius  seemed  to  have  fallen  upon  Isidor  of 
Sevilla,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  the  ages.  He  codified 
the  laws  whicli  had  been  set  forth  by  the  Christian  church.  To  this 
code  was  given  the  name  of  the  Isidorian  Decretals.  Years  after 
his  death  the  sanction  of  his  great  name  was  thrown  around  that 
other  collection  which  all  men  now  call  the  Pseudo-Isidorian 
Decretals.  The  national  reputation  for  orthdoxy  was  not  injured 
by  the  Moorish  domination.  If  anything,  it  was  intensified.  It 
was  long  before  the  old  Mozarabic  ritual  was  superseded  by  that 
of  Rome.  The  contest  for  supremacy  that  was  waged  between 
them  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  in  history. 

First  two  mailed  champions  fought  in  the  lists,  and  victory 
came  to  the  Spanish  champion ;  matters  then  rested  for  a  time. 
but  the  Roman  advocates  were  only  waiting.  For  the  second  con- 
test two  bulls  were  brought  into  the  arena  and  the  Spanish  bull 
defeated  the  Roman.  Again  matters  rested.  An  ordeal  l)v  fire 
w'as  next  arranged.  Copies  of  the  two  missals  were  cast  into  rag- 
ing flames.     The   Roman  massbook  was  at  once   consumed,   the 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

Mozarabic  was  plucked  out  almost  uninjured.  But  the  Spanish 
king  was  not  as  persistent  as  his  clergy-.  He  was  tired  of  a  con- 
test which  was  apparently  to  be  endless.  He  threw  the  Mozarabic 
missal  again  into  the  flames,  and  it  was  at  last  consumed.  Such 
was  the  popular  test, — picturesque  in  accordance  with  the  naivete 
of  the  times.  Of  course  when  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  sub- 
sequently passed  judgment  upon  the  subject  it  was  by  decrees  and 
pronouncements  and  not  by  bull-fights  or  fiery  ordeals. 

The  religious  fervor  of  the  nation  found  expression  in  the 
military  orders.  These  orders  were  not  as  famous  as  those  that 
fought  in  the  Holy  Land,  because  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  were  not 
turned  upon  them.  Yet  the  knights  of  the  Order  of  Santiago, 
and  their  compeers,  were  quite  as  devoted  to  the  service  of  the 
Cross  as  were  the  Templars  and  the  Knights  of  the  Hospital  of 
St.  John.  The  shrine  of  Santiago  de  Compostella  was  one  of  the 
great  pilgrim  resorts  of  the  world.  Santiago  himself,  mounted 
upon  a  snow-white  steed,  men  often  thought  they  saw  leading 
the  Spaniards  to  victory,  when,  without  his  aid,  defeat  seemed 
inevitable.  It  was  to  be  expected  then  that  after  the  military 
orders  had  done  their  work,  other  organizations,  like  those  that 
observed  the  "  rule  "  of  Dominic,  should  take  their  place.  The 
"  Black  Friars  "  did  not  intensify,  they  only  reflected,  the  religious 
spirit.  The  inquisition  they  directed  existed  elsewhere;  it  flour- 
ished only  in  Spain.  And  yet  toleration  was  the  rule  until  the 
Moor  was  cast  out.  The  inquisition  established  in  the  thirteenth 
century  was  designed  "  to  bring  all  mankind  into  one  fold  under 
one  shepherd."  It  had  no  real  existence  until  the  days  of  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella.  Thomas  de  Torquemada  was  the  first  great 
inquisitor.  It  was  intense  religious  zeal  that  determined  the  policy 
of  Isabella.  "For  the  love  of  Christ  and  of  his  Maid  Mother" 
she  consented  to  the  deeds  which  marked  her  reign  in  Castile. 
The  policy  of  her  successors  was  an  inherited  policy.  Philip  II. 
thought  it  was  better  not  to  rule  at  all  than  to  rule  over  a  nation 
of  heretics. 

But  religious  zeal  was  not  the  most  noticeable  feature  in  the 
history  of  mediaeval  Spain ;  constitutional  government  was  there 
first  developed.  In  1162  the  General  Assembly  of  Aragon  and 
Catalonia  met  to  deliberate  concerning  measures  of  public  utility. 
It  was  not  until  1265  that  the  famous  parliament  of  Simon  de 
Montfort    was   summoned    in    England.      Free    municipal    institu- 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

tions  were  first  developed  in  Barcelona.  Her  merchants  and 
tradesmen  exercised  sovereign  rights.  In  that  city  also  the  first 
bank  was  established.  The  "  Consulado  del  Mar "'  formed  the 
basis  of  the  laws  that  govern  shipping.  In  Aragon  the  individual 
enjoyed  such  rights  as  nowhere  else  were  tolerated.  One  mem- 
ber of  the  Cortes  might  veto  a  bill.  The  famous  oath  its  king 
was  made  to  swear  asserted  in  the  strongest  terms  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people.  One  need  not  go  far  to  discover  the  reason.  The 
pride  of  the  nobles  was  immense,  but  their  castles  could  be  taken. 
On  the  other  hand,  walled  cities  were  virtually  impregnable.  Upon 
them  the  sovereigns  were  forced  to  rely,  because  with  their  aid 
only  could  they  hold  the  robber-barons  in  check.  So  municipal 
privileges  grew.  Combinations  between  citizens  led  to  combina- 
tions between  cities.  The  "  Hermandad  "  which  was  formed  in 
1295  was  an  immense  power  for  order  and  for  security  of  life  and 
property.  It  had  no  counterpart  in  Europe.  Isabella  wisely 
adopted  its  name  and  methods,  when  in  1495  she  reduced  her 
nobles  to  submission  and  gave  security  to  her  people  by  means  of 
the  arrows  and  archers  of  the  Santa  Hermandad. 

The  conquest  of  Granada  took  away  from  the  Spanish 
nobility  their  stimulus  to  action.  Their  energies  were  dormant 
until  the  discoveries  in  the  west  roused  them  once  more.  It  was 
a  new  crusade  upon  which  Columbus  and  Cortez  felt  that  they 
had  embarked.  Their  zeal  was  quite  as  fervent  as  was  that  of 
the  men  who  in  the  twelfth  century  gathered  around  the  standard 
of  the  Norman  kings  of  Jerusalem.  The  intellectual  development 
of  the  nation  kept  pace  with  the  discoveries.  The  Philippian  age 
corresponds  with  the  Elizabethan  age  in  England.  The  marvels 
of  the  New  World  stimulated  the  imagination  in  all  lands.  But 
while  Elizabeth  was  wise  enough  always  to  yield  to  the  plainly 
expressed  wishes  of  the  English  people,  Philip  regarded  the  de- 
sires of  the  people  of  Spain  as  entirely  unworthy  his  considera- 
tion. The  Spanish  Estates  lost  power  almost  in  proportion  as  the 
Commons  of  England  increased  in  importance.  There  was  no 
longer  a  force  working  in  the  Spanish  Peninsula  similar  to  that 
in  England  which  the  development  of  commerce  afterwards  indi- 
cated. The  personal  government  of  Philip  II.  had  crushed  the 
last  remnants  of  Spanish  liberty. 

r\Iodern  Spain  is  a  surprise  to  the  traveler  who  visits  it  for  the 
first  time.     He  has  very  likely  been  told  that  there  is  no  energy 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

among  its  people,  that  it  is  a  land  of  beggars,  that  it  is  gov- 
erned by  the  priesthood  through  the  medium  of  the  confessional, 
that  the  Octroi  throttles  commerce,  and  that  its  politicians  are 
even  more  corrupt  and  unpatriotic  than  men  of  the  same  breed 
elsewhere.  Some  of  his  ideas  are  well  grounded.  "  Mariana  " 
(to-morrow)  is  the  watchword  of  many  of  its  people,  and  the 
beggar  is  almost  everywhere  a  horrible  pest.  The  mendicity  and 
mendacity  of  the  lower  classes  still  curse  the  land,  but  there  is 
another  and  very  different  Spain  above  these  classes.  This 
other  Spain  is  full  of  energy  and  of  hope,  anxious  to  develop 
the  immense  natural  resources  of  the  land.  You  see  its  thoughts 
reflected  in  the  newspapers.  You  find  its  enterprise  manifested 
in  the  new  buildings  that  are  everywhere  going  up.  The 
Spain  which  knew  not  gas  is  everywhere  lighted  by  electricity. 
Cities  like  Bilbao  and  Barcelona  are  hives  of  industry,  grow- 
ing in  a  way  that  would  be  deemed  phenomenal  in  any  coun- 
try.- Soon  these  overgrown  hives  must  swarm  and  new  manu- 
facturing centers  be  developed  elsewhere.  Once  all  the  sugar  used 
in  the  Peninsula  came  from  abroad ;  now  the  beet  sugar  factories 
are  planning  for  an  export  trade.  The  loss  of  the  colonies  which 
resulted  from  the  Spanish-American  War  was  a  terrible  blow  to 
the  country,  but  thinking  men  everywhere  now  freely  admit  that 
it  was  really  a  blessing  in  disguise.  The  life  blood  of  the  land  is 
no  longer  drained  away  in  the  West  Indies  or  the  Philippines. 
The  young  men  are  kept  at  home  and  are  not  sent  abroad  to  die 
as  soldiers  under  tropical  suns.  Frugal,  temperate,  and  indus- 
trious, they  are  building  up  a  stronger  and  more  powerful  Spain 
than  has  been  known  since  the  earliest  years  of  Philip  II.  The 
burdens  of  taxation  are  gradually  being  reduced.  The  politician 
is  giving  place  to  the  statesman.  For  generations  to  come  there 
may  not  be  a  stable  republic  in  the  Peninsula,  but  the  land  where 
modern  republican  institutions  had  their  earliest  development  will 
be  ruled  by  a  monarch  v/hose  power  will  be  limited  by  constitu- 
tional provisions,  and  Spain  will  slowly  but  surely  press  forward 
once  more  to  a  conspicious  place  among  the  nations  of  Europe. 


A^^^.tL^A 


Madrid,  Spain 


CONTENTS 


PART    I 

HISTORY   OF   THE    PENINSULA  TO   THE   DECLINE 
OF   ROME.   402   A.  D. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  Early  History        .......       3 

II.  The  Romans  in  Spain.    218  b.  C.-409  a.  d.  .  .16 

III.  Political  and  Religious  State  under  the  Romans     28 


PART    II 

THE   PENINSULA   UNDER    THE   GOTHS 
409-755    A.  D. 

IV.  History  of  tpie  Goths.    409-755  a.  d.         .         .         .35 
V.  Condition  of  the  People  under  the  Goths      .         .     53 


PART    III 

THE    PENINSULA    UNDER   THE   ARABS    AND 
THE   MOORS.    711-1492 

VT.  Dominion  of  the  Arabs.     711-1031  .         .  •     ^3 

VII.  Dominion  of  the  Africans.     1031-1238  .  .  -85 

VIII.  Kingdom  of  Granada.     1238-1492    ....    104 

PART    IV 

CHRISTIAN    SPAIN.    718-1516 

IX.  The  Asturias,  Leon  and  Castile.   713-1230       .  .  129 

X.  Kingdom  of  Xav^\rre.   Circa  885-1512      .  .  .  194 

XI.  Counts  of  Barcelona.     801-1162     ....  218 

XII.  Kingdom  of  Aragon.     1035-151G       ....  230 

XIII.  Establishment  of  Portuguese  Kingdom.     1095-1 5 K)  272 

xxi 


ixii  CONTENTS 

PART   V 
THE   SPANISH   MONARCHY.    1516-1788 

CHAPTER  PA(;E 

XIV.  The  House  of  Austria.    1516-1700  .         .         .   339 

XV.  House  of  Bourbon.     1700- 1788        ....   386 

XVI.  General  Condition  of  the  Monarchy.    1516-1788  .  421 

PART    VI 
THE    PORTUGUESE    MONARCHY.    1521-1788 

XVII.  Last  of  the  Ancient  Dynasty.     1521-1640      .         .  433 
XVIII.  House  of  Braganza.     16401788       ....  462 

PART   VII 

THE   ERA   OF    SPAIN'S    DECLINE.    1788-1910 

XIX.  Events  of  the  Critical  Era  to  the  Close  of  the 

First  Carlist  War.     i788-i8-:10  .  .         .  479 

XX.  Last  Years  of  Maria  Christina,  and  the  Era  of 

Queen  Isabella  II.     1840-1868         .  .         .  499 

XXI.  The  Brief  Reign  of  Amadeus,  and  the  Bourbon 

Restoration.     1868-1910.  .         .         .         .510 

PART    VIII 
PORTUGAL   IN   THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY 

XXII.  Events   to   the    Close   of   the    Peninsulak    War. 

1789-1815 525 

XXIII.  Growth  of  the  CoxNstitutional  Monarchy.    1816- 

19TO 53,3 

Bibliography  .........   543 

Index  ..........  551 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  Surrender  of  Granada  (Photog:ravure)     . 

Thorismund  is  Elected  King  of  the  Visigoths 
Alfonso  VIII.  on  the  Battlefield  of  Tolosa 
The  Lions'  Court  in  the  Alhambra  at  Granada 
Queen  Isabella  Pledges  Her  Jewels  to  Columbus 
Pedro  III.  in  Sight  of  the  Besieged  City  of  Messina  . 
JoAM  I.  OF  Portugal  Gains  the  Victory  at  Aljubarot. 
Carlos  I.        ......         . 

The  Death  of  Charles  \.      . 

The  Expulsion  of  the  Moriscos 

Velasquez      ....... 

Philip  II.       ......  . 

The  Heroic  Defense  of  Saragossa 

An  Attack  by  Basque  Carlists 

Camoens        ....... 


Frontispiece 

FACING   PAGE 

.     .  38 

.     100 


no 
186 

244 
298 
340 
352 
370 
380 
424 


.  488 
.  512 
.  540 


TEXT  MAPS 


PAGE 
II 


Peninsula  under  Ancient  Tribes  .... 

Spain  under  Roman  Dominion       ..... 

Political  Divisioxs  of  Spain  and  Portugal,     910  a.  d. 
Andalusia  ........ 

The  Spanish  Kingdojv[S.    Fourteenth  Centi'rv 

The  Kingdom  of  Aragon         ...... 

Spanish  Dominion  in  the  Sixteenth  Century 

Colonial  Empire  of  Portugal.     Early  Sixteenth  Centitry  336 

Portugal  Under  the  House  of  Braganza.     1640    .        .        .  475 


29 

77 
122 

193 

229 

271 


:<(£iii 


PART  I 

HISTORY  OF  THE  PENINSULA  TO  THE 
DECLINE  OF  ROME.   402   AD. 


The  History  of  Spain  and  Portugal 


Chapter  I 

EARLY    HISTORY 

WHEN,  and  by  whom,  the  Peninsula  of  Spain  was  peopled 
it  would  be  vain  to  inquire.  The  earliest'  inhabitants 
whom  history  makes  known  to  us  were  the  Iberians,  a 
nation  whose  origin  was  probably  derived  from  the  Asiatic  country 
of  that  name.  The  establishment  of  Iberian  colonies  along  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean,  from  Asia  Minor  to  Catalonia,  seems 
to  indicate  the  gradual  progress  westward  of  those  enterprising 
adventurers.  Beyond  doubt  they  were  settled  in  the  country  at  a 
period  lost  in  the  depths  of  antiquity;  but  that  they  were  the  first 
settlers  may  be  reasonably  doubted.  Its  position,  climate,  and 
fertility  would  cause  it  to  be  inhabited  before  most  others  in 
Europe. 

At  a  time  so  remote  also  that  we  cannot  ascend  to  it,  conjec- 
tured by  Ocampo  as  about  one  thousand  years  before  Christ, 
the  Iberians  were  disturbed  in  their  possessions  by  the  Celts, 
a  race  whose  origin  is  wrapped  in  impenetrable  darkness,  and 
whose  migrations  have  been,  and  still  are,  the  subject  of  much 
ingenious  but  fruitless  disputation.  Dissimilar,  we  are  told,  in 
language  and  manners,  the  numerous  tribes  into  which  the  two 
peoples  were  split  were  long  hostile  to  each  other.  They  contended 
for  the  possession,  or  perhaps  the  supremacy,  of  the  country,  until, 
finding  by  experience  that  their  strife  was  fruitless,  they  consented, 
perhaps,  to  amalgamate, — but  certainly  to  share  the  country 
between  them;  and  the  united  people  were  thenceforth  called 
Ciitibcrians. 

Did  the  Celts  enter  the  Peninsula  by  the  Pyrenees  or  cross 
over  from  Africa?  While  the  French  writers  maintain  the  former 
hypothesis,  Masdeu  and  other  natives  as  obstinately  assert  the  latter. 
In  the  absence  of  all  positive  testimony,  the  fact  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained by  eitlier.  It  would,  indeed,  be  more  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  stream  of  Celtic  migration  flowed  over  Europe  from  the 


4  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

Bosphoriis  to  the  British  Isles,  or  even  along  the  northern  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean :  we  do  not  hear  that  they  ever  formed  a 
single  settlement  on  the  southern.  But  who  were  the  Celts  ?  Were 
they  really  a  distinct  race;  or  was  the  term  employed  by  the  Greeks 
merely  as  a  generic  one,  to  designate  the  mountain  inhabitants  of 
western  Europe  as  the  Scythians  of  the  northern?  The  latter 
supposition  would  be  as  plausible  as  the  former. 

The  condition  of  the  Iberians  and  Celts,  prior  to  the  irruptions 
of  other  nations,  is  described  with  much  complacency  by  most 
Spanish  writers.  According  to  them,  governments  were  insti- 
tuted; cities  admirably  policed;  the  arts  and  philosophy  taught  to 
flourish,  when  even  Greece,  the  parent  of  European  civilization,  was 
involved  in  barbarism.  Such  dreams  may  amuse  a  patriotic  fancy ; 
but  the  severe  hand  of  Truth  would  trace  a  very  different  picture: 
it  would  show  us  a  country  where,  from  the  multitude  of  fierce 
and  independent  tribes,  contests  must  have  been  frequent  and  inevi- 
table; and  where,  from  their  savage  habits,  there  could  be  no  hope 
of  security,  much  less  of  enjoyment. 

The  character,  indeed,  of  these  tribes  is  represented  as  favor- 
able to  anything  but  social  tranquillity.  Wherever  there  are  moun- 
tains there  will  be  robbers,  until  the  arts  of  life  are  known  and 
practiced  and  lawless  violence  is  repressed  by  the  strong  arm  of 
authority.  The  mountaineers  of  the  Peninsula,  like  those  of  Scot- 
land and  Wales,  finding  that  the  districts  which  they  inhabited  were 
too  barren  for  their  support,  descended  into  the  fertile  plains  and 
carried  away  to  their  retreats  both  the  cattle  and  the  produce  of  the 
soil.  Such  aggressions  could  not  be  committed  without  contention 
between  the  plunderers  and  the  plundered.  Hence,  necessity  taught 
both  the  use  of  arms,  in  which  habit  rendered  them  expert.  Hence, 
too,  as  all  history  shows  us,  the  inhabitants  of  the  mountains  and  of 
the  plains  adjoining  have  ever  been  distinguished  by  a  warlike 
and  ferocious  disposition.  But,  in  the  mixed  condition  of  man, 
there  are  few  evils  unproductive  of  partial  good.  The  courage 
which  in  a  rude  state  of  society  stimulated  to  lawless  strife,  and 
fostered  martial  habits,  would,  in  one  more  advanced,  when  the 
blessings  of  freedom  were  known  and  prized,  resist  the  progress  of 
foreign  aggression.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  the  mountains  have 
ever  been  the  strongholds  of  independence.  Those  of  Wales, 
Scotland,  Switzerland,  Calabria,  the  Asturias,  and  Greece  are 
renowned  as  the  cradles  of  national  libertv. 


EARLY     HISTORY  5 

The  arms  of  these  people  were  simple,  but  formidable.  Two 
lances,  about  three  feet  in  length,  a  short  sword,  a  pole,  hooked  at 
the  end  to  seize  the  reins  of  horses,  and  a  sling  were  the  most  usual 
weapons  of  the  combatants  on  foot.  The  horsemen  were  distin- 
guished by  sabers,  sometimes  by  hatchets  or  ponderous  mallets, 
but  generally  by  lances  about  six  feet  long.  Both  were  defended 
by  bucklers ;  and,  in  addition,  the  latter  cased  their  thighs  in  some- 
thing on  which  the  sword  made  no  impression.  When  advancing 
to  battle  each  horseman  had  usually  a  foot  soldier  mounted  en 
croupe,  who  alighted  the  moment  the  contest  began  and  closed 
with  the  enemy. 

Bull-fights  appear  to  have  been  their  favorite  amusement  from 
the  earliest  times.  That  this  custom  was  not  introduced  by  the 
Romans  is  evident  from  its  representation  on  ancient  medals,  and 
on  a  monument  discovered  at  Clunia  about  a  century  ago, — both 
unquestionably  anterior  to  the  domination  of  that  people. 

Their  food  was  very  frugal ;  a  few  dried  acorns  or  chestnuts, 
with  mead  or  cider,  satisfied  the  moderate  wants  of  several  tribes; 
and  though  the  inhabitants  of  the  maritime  districts  were  supplied 
with  wine,  and  the  richer  portion  throughout  the  country  were  no 
strangers  to  animal  food,  they  observed,  even  in  that  barbarous 
era,  a  sobriety  which  contrasted  strongly  with  the  intemperance  of 
more  northern  nations.-^  On  these  occasions  music  was  introduced, 
and  sometimes  dancing,  but  from  this  latter  exercise,  and  indeed 
from  the  feasts  altogether,  the  women  were  excluded. 

Their  dress  was  no  less  simple.  A  garment  of  linen  or  leather, 
girt  round  the  waist,  with  a  cap  for  the  head,  constituted  the 
soldier's  covering:  a  woolen  tunic  of  a  black  color,  and  descending 
to  the  feet,  sometimes  furnished  with  a  hood  like  some  of  our  mod- 
ern cloaks  for  women,  was  the  habit  of  peace.  The  females,  indeed, 
were  no  strangers  to  fantastic  ornaments. 

Justice  was  administered  with  severity.  Capital  delinquents 
were  stoned  to  death,  or  hurled  from  the  top  of  a  precipice.  Par- 
ricides were  conducted  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  kingdom  and 
there  slain,  their  very  bones  being  considered  too  polluted  to  repose 
in   their  native  soil. 

Agriculture  was  abandoned  to  the  women,  as  an  employment 
beneath  the  dignity  of  a  warrior.     The  fair  sex  guided  the  oxen, 

1  The  same  moderation  has,   In  all  ages,  honorably  distinguished  their  de- 
scendants. 


6  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

held  the  plow,  ground  the  corn,  besides  attending  to  their  domes- 
tic concerns.  On  them,  indeed,  the  whole  drudgery  of  life  rested 
then,  as  it  does  now,  in  that  country.  When  surprised  by  the  pains 
of  labor  they  retired  into  a  corner,  no  matter  where;  wrapped  the 
infant  stranger  in  a  warm  covering;  and  returned  to  their  occupa- 
tion as  if  nothing  extraordinary  had  happened.  This  would  appear 
incredible,  notwithstanding  the  experience  of  savage  life,  even  in 
these  days,  were  the  facts  not  attested  by  authority  too  strong  to 
he  shaken. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Celtiberian  nations  were 
not  unacquainted  with  commerce,  even  before  the  invasion  of  the 
Phoenicians.  But  their  trade  was  confined  to  the  coasts,  and  con- 
sisted in  the  exchange  of  superfluities  for  the  productions  of  the 
Mediterranean  isles,  especially  for  wine.  Certain  it  is  that  they 
knew  not  the  value  of  the  precious  metals  until  the  avaricious 
Syrians  compelled  them  to  labor  in  the  mines.  From  this  period 
the  riches  of  Spain  were  almost  proverbial.  Coins  and  medals  of 
ancient  dates — some  representing  the  religious  rites  or  ordinary 
pursuits  of  the  people,  others  covered  with  Phoenician  characters — 
are  frequently  dug  up,  and  made  to  throw  light  on  this  darkest 
period  in  their  history.  But  iron  was  the  mineral  for  which  the 
country  was  most  renowned.  When  turned  into  steel,  the  excel- 
lence of  the  swords  and  spears,  and  the  perfection  of  the  workman- 
ship, made  foreigners  anxious  to  obtain  them.^ 

The  introduction  of  idolatry  into  Spain  and  Portugal  was 
owing,  it  is  said,  to  the  Phoenicians :  tradition  affirms  that  before 
their  arrival  traces  of  the  patriarchal,  if  not  the  ^Mosaic,  dispensa- 
tion were  not  wholly  destroyed.  But  the  Celts  had  previously 
settled  in  the  country,  and  doubtless  introduced  a  religious  system 
distinct  from  that  of  the  Syrians,  and  in  many  respects  similar  to 
that  of  the  Gauls  and  Britons.  If  the  knowledge  and  worship  of 
one  God  ever  existed  there  antecedently  to  the  preaching  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  was  probably  confined  to  the  Iberians,  or  to  the  inhabi- 
tants located  in  Spain  before  that  enterprising  people  forsook  their 
native  mountains  and  forests. 

The  deities  worshiped  by  the  Tyrian  colonies,  and  by  them 

-  During  the  war  with  Hannibal  the  Romans  introduced  into  their  armies 
the  short  Spanish  sword,  of  which  the  blade  was  better  tempered  than  those  of 
any  other  country.  The  reputation  of  this  weapon  subsists  to  this  day  in  the 
Toledo  blade,  which  is  both  keener  and  far  less  inclined  to  snap  than  the  brittle 
manufactures   of  Birmingham  and   Sheffield. 


EARLY     HISTORY  7 

made  known  to  the  native  tribes,  were  doubtless  many  in  number; 
yet  few  remain  either  in  ancient  writers  or  on  contemporary  medals. 
Hercules,  represented  sometimes  as  a  pilot,  sometimes  as  grasping 
a  bow,  was  an  emblem  of  the  sun.  The  moon  was  represented 
under  the  figure  of  a  head  with  two  horns,  evidently  intended  for 
that  of  a  bull  or  a  cow.  The  former  was  called  Baal,  the  latter 
Astarte  or  Astaroth.  Probably  they  are  the  same  as  the  Isis  and 
Osiris  of  the  Egyptians,  who  always  used  the  figure  of  a  cow  to 
represent  the  moon.^  Hence  the  origin  of  several  monuments  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  Peninsula, 

As  before  observed,  the  Peninsula,  from  the  earliest  known 
period,  was  split  into  a  multitude  of  tribes,  originally  divided  from 
two  great  races  or  nations.  The  Celts  reigned  in  the  north  and 
west ;  the  Iberians  in  the  south  and  east.  A  mixture  of  the  two, 
the  Celtiberians,  from  whom  the  whole  population  was  named,  pos- 
sessed a  great  portion  of  the  interior.  Under  these  three  general 
heads  we  shall  class  all  the  tribes  of  the  country  which  made  any 
figure  in  ancient  history.  Those  of  which  the  names  only  remain, 
and  there  are  many  of  them,  are  omitted,  since  they  would  form 
but  a  barren  and  useless  nomenclature. 

It  must,  however,  be  premised  that  though  the  classification 
adopted  is  sufficiently  accurate  for  the  present  purpose,  it  is  not 
proposed  as  strictly  so.  The  expeditions  of  the  Phoenicians,  the 
Greeks,  and  the  Carthaginians,  and  still  more  the  migration  of 
native  tribes,  doubtless  gave  rise  to  various  modifications  of  society 
on  the  coasts,  to  the  amalgamation  of  some  states  and  the  formation 
of  others. 

The  Celts  consisted  of  five  powerful  tribes.  The  Asturians 
(Astures)  inhabited  a  territory  more  extensive  than  the  modern 
principality  of  the  name,  for  it  comprehended  also  a  considerable 
portion  of  Leon  and  Old  Castile.  By  the  Romans  it  was  generally 
confounded  with  the  country  of  the  Callaici  or  Gallicians.  The 
ultramontane  Asturians,  like  theif  descendants  at  this  day,  dwelt 
in  the  gorges  formed  by  the  numerous  ramifications  of  the  moun- 
tains which  traverse  their  country.  These  branches,  called  by  the 
Spaniards  sierras,  sometimes  ccrros,  are  so  near  to  one  another 
that  many  of  the  ravines  between  them  are  scarcely  broad  enough  to 

3  That  the  full  moon  was  the  chief  feast  among  the  ancient  Spaniards    is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  Agandia,  or  Asteartia,  is  the  name  for  Sunday  with 

tiie  Basque?. 


8  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

serve  as  beds  to  the  torrents  which  descend  from  the  snow-clad 
mountains.  The  scene  is  often  singularly  romantic.  In  many  of 
the  valleys,  and  on  the  declivities  of  the  less  abrupt  mountains, 
vegetation  is  flourishing;  fruit-trees  even  are  common,  and  corn  is 
abundant. 

The  natural  position  of  this  country,  while  it  averted  from  the 
inhabitants  the  curse  of  subjugation  by  Phoenicians,  Carthaginians, 
Romans,  Goths,  or  Moors,  preserved  them  from  the  contagion  of 
the  social  vices  and  cherished  within  them  an  ungovernable  spirit 
of  independence.  In  valor  they  were  surpassed  by  no  people  of 
the  Peninsula.  Their  ordinary  clothing  was  the  skin  of  the 
chamois.  Game,  with  which  the  region  has  always  abounded,  fur- 
nished them  with  a  never-failing  diet,  and  enabled  them  to  undergo 
the  severest  labors.  At  home  they  cultivated  the  ground;  when 
occupied  in  war  this  duty  necessarily  devolved  on  the  women.  The 
Romans  succeeded  in  penetrating  into  such  districts  as  abounded 
in  gold ;  but  the  country  was  only  partially  known  to  them,  much 
less  subdued. 

The  Cantabres  inhabited  a  territory  comprising  Biscay  Proper, 
Guipuscoa,  and  Alava.  It  abounded  in  the  precious  metals,  and 
above  all  in  iron.  The  whole  country^  in  fact,  was  one  continuous 
series  of  mines.  It  was  the  arsenal  of  Spain,  and  even  of  foreign 
nations :  it  was  the  forge  of  Vulcan.  Its  richness  in  these  valuable 
minerals  made  it  an  object  of  cupidity  to  the  Romans  :  but  the  hands 
which  could  manufacture  weapons  could  also  use  them ;  and  the 
independence  of  this  hardy  race  was  preserved.  Passionately  fond 
of  their  mountains,  barren  as  those  mountains  are,  and  no  less 
attached  to  war — insensible  to  hunger,  heat,  and  cold, — they  were 
the  terror  of  Rome. 

The  Vascones  inhabited  the  country  which  extended  over  all 
the  present  kingdom  of  Navarre  and  a  great  part  of  Aragon:  it 
was  bounded  by  Cantabria,  the  Pyrenees,  the  territory  of  the 
Ilergetes,  and  the  Ebro.  The  warlike  spirit  of  the  Basques,  their 
predecessors,  was  well  known  to  the  Carthaginians  and  Romans. 
Hannibal  enrolled  many  of  them  among  his  troops  previous  to  his 
invasion  of  Italy;  and  many  also  served  to  prop  for  a  time  the  de- 
clining fortunes  of  the  republic  in  Africa.  The  barrenness  of  their 
native  soil  and  their  addiction  to  a  military  life  rendered  them  will- 
ing to  fight  under  the  banners  of  any  general  who  chose  to  employ 
them. 


EARLY     HISTORY  9 

What  makes  this  people  the  most  distingfuished  of  any  in  the 
Peninsula  is  their  famous  language,  which,  under  the  name  of 
Basque,  has  long  exercised  the  ingenuity  of  the  learned.  Whether 
it  be  the  ancient  language  of  Spain,  or  whether  it  be  identical  with 
the  Celtic,  are  problems  of  which  we  need  not  expect  the  solution. 
It  seems,  however,  probable,  from  the  number  of  Basque  words 
throughout  the  topography  of  the  Peninsula,  that  those  writers 
may  be  right  who  contend  for  its  universality  in  Spain  at  some 
remote  period  of  antiquity.  But,  whether  Celtic  or  Iberian,  the 
construction  of  the  Basque  is  Asiatic,  and  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of 
the  most  ancient  idioms  in  the  world. 

Another  tribe,  the  Callaici,  or  Gallicians,  anciently  occupied  the 
whole  of  modern  Gallicia,  and  a  portion  of  the  kingdom  of  Leon : 
they  possessed  the  seacoast  between  the  Asturias  and  Lusitania, 
and  were  separated  by  high  mountains  from  the  rest  of  the  Penin- 
sula. 

Like  all  the  tribes  of  Spain,  especially  the  northern,  these  peo- 
ple were  distinguished  for  their  pugnacious  disposition.  As  if 
nature  had  not  sufficiently  defended  the  country,  numerous  fort- 
resses were  spread  over  it, — probably  intended  to  guard  against  the 
incursions  of  the  pirates,  whose  depredations  were  frequent  and 
terrible.  From  the  most  ancient  times,  as  at  present,  their  maritime 
superiority  over  all  other  nations  of  Spain  was  beyond  dispute.  The 
abundance  of  fish  on  their  coasts,  and  the  fertility  of  their  soil, 
attracted  the  Phoenician  and  Carthaginian  merchants  to  their  ports, 
and  rendered  their  condition  uncommonly  flourishing.  Besides, 
they  had  numerous  mines  of  the  precious  metals,  and  of  tin.  Gold, 
we  are  told,  was  so  common  that  the  laborers  in  the  fields  frequently 
dug  up  ingots  several  ounces  in  weight.  This  is  exaggerated ;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  mines  were  highly  productive.  The 
natives  worshiped  chiefly  the  sun  and  moon ;  but  that  they  had 
many  other  gods  in  common  with  the  neighboring  tribes  is  incon- 
testable from  the  inscriptions  still  extant.  Fifteen  neighboring 
tribes  owned  their  supremacy. 

A  fifth  tribe  called  Lusitanians  inhabited  the  western  portion  of 
the  Peninsula,  which  was  more  extensive  than  the  present  kingdom 
of  Portugal.  It  comprised,  in  addition,  the  two  Estremaduras, 
and  a  portion  of  Castile  and  Leon.  The  tribes  scattered  over  this 
extensive  district  were  many,  but  all  apparently  derived  from  one 
common  stock,  the  Celts.     The  most  formidable  of  these  were  the 


10  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

Catones,  the  Turdetani,  the  TurduH,  who  were  probably  a  tribe  of 
the  latter,  and  the  Lusitani,  from  whom  the  country  derived  its  name. 

To  the  south  and  east  of  these  reigned  the  second  great  race, 
the  Iberian  nation.  Their  territory  was  so  extensive  that  from 
them  the  whole  of  Spain  was  sometimes  called  Iberia.  These  also 
were  divided  into  numerous  tribes. 

Proceeding  from  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  along  the  coast  of 
Baetica,  and  passing  the  Bastuli,  we  come  to  the  Bastitani.  Their 
country  comprised  most  of  Murcia,  and  was  intersected  by  the 
Tadder,  now  the  Segura,  It  contained  fifteen  towns,  exclusive  of 
the  ports. 

The  Contestani  extended  from  Carthagena  to  the  River  Xucar, 
formerly  Sucro,  and  westward  to  the  mountain  range  of  Idubeda : 
their  territory,  consequently,  embraced  a  portion  of  Murcia  and 
Valencia.  It  had  several  ports,  of  which  the  most  famous  was 
Carthagena,  built  by  the  Carthaginians. 

To  the  north  of  this  tribe  were  the  Edetani.  Their  maritime 
coast  was  but  small,  extending  only  from  the  Sucro  to  the  Uduba ; 
but  to  the  north  and  west  their  territory  stretched  much  more  con- 
siderably. It  comprised  a  portion  of  Valencia  and  Aragon.  Its 
ports  were  numerous,  the  principal  of  which  were  the.Salduba,  now 
Saragossa  on  the  Ebro ;  Valencia,  and  Saguntum,  now  Murviedro. 

The  Ilercavones  lay  on  the  coast  from  the  Uduba  beyond  the 
Iberus  or  Ebro,  comprising  a  considerable  portion  of  Valencia. 
From  the  Greeks,  who  at  an  early  period  entered  into  communica- 
tion with  them,  thc}^  learned  the  advantages  of  commerce. 

The  Cosetani  were  also  a  maritime  tribe,  on  tlie  seacoast  of 
Catalonia,  as  far  as  the  River  Llobregat :  their  capital  was  Tarrago, 
now  Tarragona. 

The  Laletani  lay  nearer  to  the  Pyrenees,  and  extended  to  the 
Ter:  their  capital  was  the  renowned  city  of  Barcino,  now  Barce- 
lona, built  by  the  Carthaginians. 

Between  this  people  and  the  Pyrenees  lay  the  Indigetes.  On 
this  coast  the  Greeks  founded  two  flourishing  colonies,  Emporium, 
now  Ampurias ;  and  Rhodia,  now  Rosas. 

To  the  west  of  these  and  of  the  Laletani  were  the  Ilergetes. 
whose  capital  was  Ilerda,  now  Lerida,  and  who  were  the  most 
valiant  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  Catalonia  and  Aragon.  The 
xA.usetani  and  the  Laletani  either  formed  a  portion  of  the  same  tribe 
or  were  dependent  on  tliem. 


EARLY     HISTORY 


11 


The  Celtiberians  were  a  third  and  mixed  race  which  seems  at 
different  periods  to  have  possessed  very  different  dimensions.  In 
the  most  ancient  times,  on  the  junction  of  the  Iberians  and  Celts, 
it  must  have  comprised  the  greater  part,  if  not  the  whole, 
of  Spain.  But  when  Celtiberia  was  restricted  to  the  country- 
inhabited  by  a  central  people,  as  at  the  time  of  the  Roman  invasion, 
it  comprised  the  Two  Castiles ;  subsequently,  when  the  various  tribes 
combined  under  Viriatus  to  shake  off  the  Roman  domination,  it 
was  still  further  circumscribed.     But  even  in  this  period  it  was 


_Gl8f<J^L-t7^J^ 


/     \    PENINSULA  UNDER  ANCIENT  TRIBES. 


very  powerful.  It  was  bounded  on  the  east  by  Aragon  and  Valen- 
cia, on  the  south  by  the  Bastitani,  and  on  the  north  by  the  tribes 
bordering  on  Cantabria.  The  western  boundary  is  not  so  clear: 
their  country  must  have  stretched  to  the  very  frontiers  of  Lusitania, 
or  at  least  to  those  of  Estremadura,  which  indeed  formed  a  part  of 
Lusitania. 

As  the  Celtiberians  were  an  amalgamation  of  the  Iberians 
and  Celts,  their  character  and  habits  may  be  naturally  expected  to 
partake  of  both.  This  was,  indeed,  the  case,  but  not  in  an  equal 
degree :  the  characteristic  features  of  the  Celts  were  more  predomi- 
nant. 


1«  SPAIN     AND    PORTUGAL 

The  Celtiberians  were  a  brave  nation.  They  did  not  wait  for 
the  enemy,  but  sought  him  out;  they  did  not  fight  from  behind 
entrenchments,  but  openly  and  manfully.  Strong,  vigorous,  hardy, 
and  full  of  courage,  they  are  represented  by  their  countryman,  the 
celebrated  epigrammatist,  Martial,  as  a  perfect  contrast  to  the 
voluptuous  Roman.  They  had  not,  however,  the  unbending  resolu- 
tion, persevering  energy,  and  native  grandeur  of  the  Cantabrians. 

The  Phoenicians  were  the  first  who,  attracted  by  the  never- 
failing  instinct  of  gain,  directed  their  course  to  a  country  which 
promised  the  highest  advantages  to  their  commerce.  The  precise 
period  of  their  entering  into  relations  with  the  inhabitants  is 
unknown ;  doubtless  it  was  before  the  foundation  of  either  Carthage 
or  Rome.  For  some  time  their  settlements,  of  which  Gades,  now 
Cadiz,  was  the  first  and  most  powerful,  were  confined  to  the  coasts 
of  Baetica,  whence  they  supplied  the  natives  with  the  traffic  of  Asia 
Minor  and  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  in  exchange  for  the 
more  valuable  productions  of  the  Peninsula,  such  as  gold,  silver, 
and  iron.  Cadiz,  Malaga,  Cordova,  and  other  places  of  minor  note 
were  monuments  of  their  successful  enterprise  and  proofs  of  their 
intention  to  fix  their  permanent  abode  in  a  country  on  which  nature 
had  lavished  her  choicest  gifts.  In  time  they  penetrated  into  the 
interior,  and  arrived  in  the  heart  of  the  mountainous  districts  of  the 
north,  probably  to  superintend  the  operations  of  the  mines  which 
they  had  prevailed  on  the  natives  to  open.  Almost  everywhere 
have  they  left  traces  of  their  existence,  not  only  in  medallic  and 
lapidary  inscriptions,  but  in  the  religion,  language,  and  manners 
of  the  people. 

It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  residence  of  this  people  in 
Spain  may  have  been  confounded  with  that  of  the  Carthaginians. 
The  similarity  in  language,  manners,  and  superstitions  might  natu- 
rally have  diminished  the  distinction  between  the  two  nations,  and 
in  time  destroyed  it.  About  eight  or  nine  hundred  years  before 
Christ  the  Rhodians  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Catalonia,  and  founded 
a  town,  which  they  called  Rhodia  (Rosas)  from  the  name  of  their 
island.  They  were  followed  by  the  Phocians,  to  whose  maritime 
enterprise  the  Father  of  History  bears  testimony.  These  also 
founded  a  towTi  on  the  same  coast ;  and  as  their  resources  increased 
so  did  their  ambition :  they  dispossessed  their  countrymen  of  Rosas, 
and  extended  their  settlements  along  the  shores  of  Catalonia  and 
Valencia. 


EARLY     HISTORY  13 

The  African  republic  had  long  watched  with  jealousy  the 
progressive  prosperity  of  the  Tyrians,  and  waited  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  supplanting  them.  In  840  B.C.  that  opportunity  came. 
A  dispute  arose:  both  parties  recurred  to  arms;  and,  after  a  short 
struggle,  the  lords  of  the  deep  were  forced  to  give  way  before  their 
martial  enemies.  Several  of  the  Phoenician  settlements  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  victors,  who  appeared  bent  on  rescuing  their  soil 
from  these  all-grasping  strangers.  Seeing  Cadiz  itself  threatened, 
the  latter  implored  the  assistance  of  the  Carthaginians,  who  had 
already  a  settlement  on  the  little  island  of  Iviza.  The  invitation 
was  eagerly  accepted ;  perhaps,  as  has  been  asserted,  the  Carthagin- 
ians had  fomented  the  misunderstanding,  and  urged  it  to  an  open 
quarrel.  However  this  be,  they  landed  a  considerable  force  on  the 
Baetican  coast;  and,  after  a  few  struggles,  the  details  of  which 
we  should  vainly  attempt  to  ascertain,  they  triumphed  over  both 
Phoenicians  and  natives,  and  seized  on  the  prize  they  had  so  long 
coveted.  Thenceforth  Cadiz  served  as  a  stronghold  whither  they 
could  retreat  whenever  danger  pressed  too  heavily,  and  as  an  arsenal 
where  fetters  might  be  manufactured  for  the  rest  of  Spain. 

Few  new  conquests  were  made  until  235  B.C.  under  the  gen- 
eral, Hamilcar,  father  of  the  great  Hannibal.  He  had  need  of  all  his 
valor — and  few  captains  ever  had  more — to  quell  the  perpetual 
incursions  of  tribes  glorying  in  their  independence,  and  strangers 
to  fear.  For  this  purpose  he  built  several  fortresses  (the  important 
city  of  Barcelona  is  said  to  have  been  among  the  number),  in  which 
he  distributed  a  portion  of  his  troops  to  overawe  the  surrounding 
country;  while,  with  another  portion,  he  moved  from  place  to 
place,  as  occasion  required  his  presence.  He  was,  however,  checked 
in  the  career  of  his  conquests  by  the  Edetajii  and  Saguntines,  who 
openly  revolted,  and  made  vigorous  preparations  for  their  defense. 
He  fell  upon  them ;  but  neither  the  number  of  his  forces  nor  his  own 
bravery  could  succeed  against  men  to  whom  the  hope  of  freedom 
and  of  revenge  gave  irresistible  might.  Two-thirds  of  his  army 
perished,  and  himself  among  the  number.  His  son  Hannibal  being 
too  young  to  succeed  him,  the  administration  of  the  Carthaginian 
provinces  and  the  conduct  of  the  war  devolved,  by  a  decree  of  the 
senate,  on  his  son-in-law,  Has-drubal. 

The  city  of  Carthagena,  which  Hasdrubal  founded  on  the 
modern  gulf  of  that  name,  and  whicli  he  furnished  with  an  admir- 
able harbor,  was  the  most  glorious  monument  of  his  administration. 


14  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

The  success  of  his  arms,  the  nature  of  his  designs,  which  evidently 
tended  to  some  great  end,  his  talents,  his  ambition,  roused  the  fears 
both  of  the  Greek  colonies  on  the  coast  of  Catalonia  and  Valencia, 
and  of  several  independent  nations  in  the  interior.  Both  viewed 
with  alarm  his  rapid  strides  towards  the  universal  subjection  of  the 
Peninsula,  and  as  they  were  too  feeble  to  oppose  him  with  any 
force  they  could  muster  (some  of  the  most  powerful  native  tribes 
were  his  tributaries  or  allies),  they  resolved  to  call  in  a  third  power, 
which  had  long  regarded  with  jealousy  the  growing  prosperity  of 
Carthage,  and  envied  that  republic  the  possession  of  a  country  so 
admirably  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  commerce  and  war,  and  so 
rich  in  resources  as  to  appear  inexhaustible. 

Rome  eagerly  embraced  the  cause  of  the  discontented  states — 
probably,  indeed,  she  had  secretly  fomented  that  discontent.  In  the 
character  of  ally  and  protector  of  the  confederate  states  she  sent 
a  deputation  to  Carthage,  which  obtained  from  the  senate  the 
important  concessions  that  the  Carthaginians  should  not  push  their 
conquests  beyond  the  Ebro,  and  that  they  should  not  disturb  the 
Saguntines  and  the  other  Greek  colonies. 

Though  Hasdrubal  was  made  acquainted  with  these  conces- 
sions, and  even  promised  to  observe  them,  nothing  was  further 
from  his  purpose  than  to  relinquish  the  gigantic  designs  he  had 
formed.  He  silently  collected  troops,  and  resolved  to  make  a  final 
effort  for  the  entire  subjugation  of  Spain  before  Rome  could  succor 
the  confederates.  In  three  years,  his  formidable  preparations  being 
completed,  he  threw  off  the  mask,  and  marched  against  Saguntum. 
On  his  way,  however,  he  was  assassinated  by  the  slave  of  a  man 
whose  master,  a  native  prince,  he  had  put  to  death.  The  attach- 
ment of  this  slave  to  his  master's  memory  could  be  equalled  only 
by  the  unshaken  firmness  with  which  he  supported  the  incredible 
torments  inflicted  on  him  by  the  fierce  Hannibal. 

This  famous  Carthaginian  was  in  his  twenty-fifth  year  when 
he  succeeded  to  the  post  of  his  deceased  brother.  He  was  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  all  his  predecessors  united.  To  military  talents 
and  personal  valor  perhaps  unexampled  in  any  age,  he  joined  aston- 
ishing coolness  of  judgment  and  inflexibility  of  purpose.  While 
Hasdrubal  was  actuated  only  by  selfish  considerations,  Hannibal 
had  as  the  great  principle  of  his  actions,  revenge — revenge  against 
the  bitter  enemy  of  his  country,  and  still  more  against  the  destroyers 
of  his  kindred.     There  is  a  moral  grandeur  in  this  all-engrossing 


E  A  R  L  Y     H  I  S  T  O  R  Y  15 

purpose  which,  notwithstanding-  its  fell  malignity,  unaccountably 
rivets  our  admiration. 

The  young  hero  lost  no  time  in  extending  his  conquests,  and 
amassing  resources  for  the  grand  approaching  struggle  with  the 
Romans.  Having  subdued  some  warlike  tribes  of  modern  Castile 
and  Leon,  and  brought  into  full  activity  some  rich  silver  mines  at 
the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees,  he  marched  at  the  head  of  150,000  men 
against  Saguntum,  which  he  invested  in  due  form.  Unfortunately, 
however,  for  the  Saguntines,  they  had  to  do  with  a  man  whom 
disappointment  only  nerved  to  greater  exertions.  To  place  his 
soldiers  on  a  level  with  those  who  fought  from  the  ramparts  he 
invented  moving  towers  on  which  the  Carthaginians  were  wheeled 
to  the  walls,  and  from  which  they  were  able  to  oppose  the  citizens 
on  equal  terms.  The  latter,  at  length,  retired  into  the  midst  of  the 
city  to  await  the  final  struggle  with  the  Africans.  But  it  appeared 
dishonorable  to  themselves  thus  to  flee  from  the  enemy:  their 
destruction  they  knew  to  be  inevitable,  but  they  resolved  that  the 
last  act  of  this  fearful  tragedy  should  be  a  suitable  consummation 
of  the  preceding  horrors.  Having  amassed  all  their  valuable 
effects,  and  everything  combustible,  into  one  pile,  and  placed  their 
wives  and  children  around  it,  they  issued  from  the  gates,  and 
plunged  into  the  midst  of  the  surprised  enemy.  The  slaughter  was 
prodigious  on  both  sides :  but,  in  the  end,  numbers  and  strength 
prevailed  against  weakness  and  desperation :  the  Saguntines  were 
cut  off  almost  to  a  man. 

Thus  perished  one  of  the  most  flourishing  cities  of  Spain,  and 
one  which  will  be  forever  memorable  in  the  annals  of  mankind.  Its 
destruction  hastened,  if  it  did  not  occasion,  the  second  Punic  war. 

Rome,  whose  neglect  in  succoring  lier  ally  drew  on  her  the 
execration  of  the  Peninsula,  now  equipped  her  powerful  arma- 
ments for  a  grand  struggle  on  the  soil  of  Spain  with  her  ambitious 
and  vindictive  rival.  Hannibal  mustered  his  forces  for  the  invasion 
of  Italy.  While  the  Carthaginian  hero  is  spreading  destruction 
around  him.  and  the  towers  of  "  the  eternal  city  ''  themselves  are 
tottering,  our  task  must  be  to  cast  a  hurried  glance  at  the  transac- 
tions which,  after  the  invasion  of  Scipio,  happened  in  the  country 
he  had  left  behind. 


Chapter  II 

THE   ROMANS    IN    SPAIN,   218   B.C.-409   A.D, 

NO  sooner  was  the  fall  of  Sagimtum  known  at  Rome  than 
ambassadors  were  again  dispatched  to  the  Peninsula,  to 
form  a  confederation  of  the  tribes  adverse  to  the  Punic 
yoke.  They  were  coolly  received.  Meanwhile,  Cnaeus  Scipio,  the 
lieutenant  of  his  brother  Publius  the  consul,  landed  at  Ampurias 
in  Catalonia,  with  10,000  infantry  and  700  horse  (at  the  same  time 
Hannibal  was  marching  through  Gaul  on  the  way  to  Italy,  to 
destroy  the  very  name  of  Rome,  and  to  free  the  world),  an  arma- 
ment evidently  inadequate  to  the  importance  of  the  expedition.  His 
first  object  was  to  gain  over  the  Iberian  tribes  north  of  the  Ebro. 
This  he  at  length  effected  by  his  personal  influence,  rather  than  by 
that  of  his  country.  He  was  soon  strong  enough  to  contend  with 
Hanno,  the  Carthaginian  general,  who  commanded  in  Catalonia, 
and  whom  he  defeated  with  heavy  loss. 

The  campaigns  that  followed  corresponded  with  this  auspicious 
beginning.  A  naval  victory  gained  over  the  Carthaginian  fleet  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Ebro  placed  at  Scipio's  command  the  whole  mari- 
time coast  from  Murcia  to  the  Pyrenees.  The  plunder  of  the  Punic 
colonies  incited  his  soMiers  to  more  vigorous  operations ;  the  adhe- 
sion to  his  cause  of  the  Celtiberian  tribes,  and  the  arrival  of  his 
brother  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio,  his  s.uperior  in  command,  with  a 
considerable  reinforcement,  were  still  more  encouraging.  They 
defeated  Hasdrubal,  the  Punic  general  in  chief,  in  three  decisive 
engagements,  and  forced  him  to  take  refuge  witliin  the  walls  of 
Carthagena.  So  rapid  and  so  complete  were  the  triumphs  of  the 
Romans  that  Spain  was  now  regarded  as  a  province  of  the  repub- 
lic. And  w^ell  it  might ;  for  of  the  numerous  fortresses  on  the  coast, 
not  more  than  three  or  four  now  held  for  the  Carthaginians. 

But  Hasdrubal  had  many  great  qualities  in  common  with  Han- 
nibal, his  heroic  brother.  Not  the  least  of  these  were  the  fortitude 
with  which  lie  bore  reverses,  and  the  activity  with  which  he  sought 
to  repair  them.  Having  procured  two  reinforcements  from  Car- 
le 


T  H  E     R  O  M  A  N  S  17 

218-215  B.  C. 

thage,  and  strengthened  himself,  in  imitation  of  the  two  Scipios, 
with  alHances  in  the  interior  of  the  country  and  from  Africa, 
he  resolved  to  make  a  vigorous  stand  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Punic  possessions  still  remaining,  or  at  least  to  fight  his  way  to  the 
Pyrenees,  and  proceed  as  he  had  been  ordered  by  his  government, 
to  join  his  brother  in  Italy,  the  sun  of  whose  fortunes  was  now 
beginning  to  decline.  This  junction  the  Scipios  dreaded.  To 
oppose  his  passage,  as  well  as  to  strike  a  final  blow  for  the  undis- 
puted supremacy  of  the  Peninsula,  they  collected  a  formidable  host, 
chiefly  by  admitting  into  their  ranks,  on  regular  pay,  the  warlike 
nations  of  Celtiberia.  Elated  with  this  advantage,  they  divided 
their  forces,  and  advanced,  confident  of  success,  against  Hasdrubal 
and  Mago.  Cnaeus  was  opposed  to  the  former,  and  Publius  to 
the  latter. 

But  the  tide  of  events  changed  for  a  season.  While  Cnaeus 
retreated  before  the  now  triumphant  Hasdrubal,  Publius  was 
routed  and  slain  by  Mago,  and  his  army  almost  exterminated.  The 
victor  united  with  Hasdrubal,  and  the  two  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
fugitive  Roman.  They  found  him  entrenched  on  a  little  hill.  At 
the  first  shock  his  troops  were  dispersed :  many  were  slain ;  but  a 
number  fled,  with  their  general,  to  a  neighboring  tower,  which  was 
soon  stormed,  and  all  within  put  to  the  sword.  The  rest  effected 
their  escape  to  the  camp  of  their  countrymen,  near  the  Ebro. 

The  despair  of  the  Roman  soldiers  at  the  fall  of  their  chiefs 
inclined  them  to  submit  with  indifference  to  the  will  of  the  victors. 
But  Lucius  Alartius,  one  of  their  generals,  exhorted  them  to  revenge 
the  death  of  the  Scipios,  or  meet  their  own.  Already  were  the 
Carthaginians  under  Hasdrubal  (the  son,  not  of  Hamilcar,  but  of 
Gisgo)  near  their  fortified  camp,  when  they  were  roused  from  their 
despondency,  and  drawn  up  to  receive  the  enemy.  Their  determined 
attitude  was  not  lost  on  the  latter;  who,  as  if  seized  by  a  panic,  fell 
back  to  the  Punic  entrenchments.  In  the  silence  of  night  Martius 
led  them  to  the  camp  of  Hasdrubal,  and  penetrated  into  the  tents 
without  opposition.  With  a  loud  shout  they  commenced  the  work  of 
destruction.  Some  killed  the  enemy,  but  half-awakened ;  some  set 
fire  to  the  tents ;  others  guarded  the  gates,  to  intercept  the  flight  of 
the  alarmed  fugitives.  When  this  dreadful  massacre  was  over  the 
Romans  })rocee(led  to  the  camp  of  Mago,  to  renew  the  same  bloody 
scene.  They  forced  the  gates,  and  penetrated  into  the  tents ;  but 
dawn  appeared,  and  though  they  killed  many,  more  escaped. 


18  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

210-206  B.  C. 

Grateful  to  the  man  who  had  preserved  them  from  utter 
destruction,  the  Roman  army  proclaimed  Martins  their  captain; 
but  an  authority  not  conferred  by  the  senate  gave  umbrage  to  that 
jealous  body,  and  Martins  was  superseded.  The  incapacity,  how- 
ever, of  the  new  general  was  so  glaring  that  he  was  soon  compelled 
to  resign  his  authority  into  the  hands  of  the  famous  Publius  Cor- 
nelius Scipio,  afterwards  surnamed  Africamis,  son  of  the  hero  of 
that  name  whose  fate  has  just  been  noticed. 

When  Scipio  landed  in  Spain  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
armament,  he  found  that  the  renown  of  his  father  and  uncle 
smoothed  the  rugged  path  which  lay  before  him.  Like  them,  he 
appeared  among  the  people  more  as  a  friend  than  as  a  master.  The 
latter  renewed  their  alliances  with  the  republic,  and  promised  their 
support. 

The  Carthaginians  watched  his  progress  with  much  anxiety; 
and  prepared  to  sustain  the  storm,  burst  wherever  it  might.  When 
the  campaign  opened,  Hasdrubal,  the  brother  of  Hannibal,  lay  at 
Saguntum,  which  had  been  rebuilt  by  the  Scipios ;  the  other  Has- 
drubal was  in  Baetica,  opposite  to  Cadiz ;  and  Mago  was  between 
New  Castile  and  Andalusia.  To  divide  their  forces  at  such  a  time, 
and  when  called  to  oppose  such  a  man,  was  a  fatal  error.  Without 
seeking  out  any  one  of  the  three,  as  his  predecessors  would  have 
done,  he  marched  to  Carthagena,  the  metropolis  of  the  Punic  pos- 
sessions in  Spain,  and  closely  invested  it.  So  bold  a  stroke  was 
little  anticipated  by  anyone.  In  vain  did  i\Iago  advance  to  relieve 
it :  it  fell,  after  a  short  but  vigorous  siege.  Its  riches  became  the 
prey  of  the  new  general ;  and  Mago  himself  was  among  the  numer- 
ous prisoners  made  on  that  occasion. 

The  progress  of  Scipio  was  now  rapid.  He  penetrated  into 
Baetica,  overthrew  Hasdrubal  (who  however  succeeded  in  crossing 
the  Pyrenees  and  reaching  Italy)  ;  and  in  another  battle  took 
Hanno,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Hasdrubal,  prisoner.  In 
another  campaign  he  reduced  several  places  in  the  same  province, 
the  last  stronghold  of  the  Punic  forces.  In  a  third  he  forever 
broke  the  power  of  the  enemy  by  a  decisive  though  dearly  bought 
victory  over  the  heroic  Hasdrubal,  the  son  of  Gisgo. 

The  Carthaginians  were  now  driven  to  the  last  extremity. 
Having  severely  chastised  the  natives  who  had  dared  to  aspire  after 
liberty,  Scipio  proceeded  to  attack  Cadiz,  the  first  and  last  posses- 
sion of  the  African  republic  in  the  Peninsula.     Seeing  that  resist- 


THEROMANS  19 

201-133  B.  C. 

ance  would  be  useless,  and  pressed  by  the  repeated  letters  of  Han- 
nibal for  new  reinforcements,  the  senate  at  length  gave  orders  that 
the  city  should  be  abandoned  and  the  troops  conveyed  to  Italy.  Thus 
ended  the  Punic  domination  in  Spain,  after  an  eventful  struggle 
of  thirteen  years  with  the  armies  of  Rome. 

At  length  an  event  occurred  of  which  the  consequences  were 
well-nigh  proving  fatal  to  the  unprincipled  sway  of  the  republic  in 
the  Peninsula.  The  consul  Lucullus  and  the  praetor  Galba  had 
penetrated  into  the  heart  of  Lusitania,  to  extirpate,  one  by  one,  the 
warlike  tribes  of  that  country.  Their  enormous  exactions  and 
unheard-of  cruelties  were  too  glaring  to  be  wholly  passed  over  even 
by  the  historians  of  their  own  nation.  While  on  this  expedition 
the  latter  received  a  deputation  from  various  people  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tagus,  who  offered  to  submit  to  the  Romans  on  the  condi- 
tions formerly  ratified  by  the  two  parties.  He  readily  accepted 
their  proposal,  spoke  to  them  with  the  utmost  kindness,  and 
expressed  his  anxiety  to  better  their  condition  by  removing  them  to 
more  fertile  seats,  where  they  might  enjoy  undisturbed  the  fruits 
of  their  industry  under  the  protection  of  Rome,  Transported  by 
this  cheering  prospect,  and  sick  of  the  miseries  of  anarchy,  30,000 
poor  Spaniards  resorted  to  his  camp.  Plaving  secured  their 
arms,  under  the  pretext  that  such  weapons  would  be  useless 
in  the  peaceful  life  on  which  they  were  about  to  enter,  swift  as 
lightning  he  fell  on  them  thus  separated  and  helpless,  massacred 
above  9,000.  and  made  20,000  prisoners,  whom  he  sold  for  slaves 
throughout  the  provinces  of  Gaul.  But  few  escaped,  and  among 
these  were  Viriatus ;  the  most  wonderful  man  in  the  ancient  history 
of  Spain. 

This  man  (Viriatus)  was  only  a  shepherd  when  he  set  out  on 
his  heroic  and  patriotic  career,  but  he  won  battle  after  battle,  and 
the  Lusitani  soon  made  him  their  king.  For  many  years  he  fought 
against  the  Romans,  and  even  forced  them  to  make  peace.  But 
in  the  end  the  Roman  general  Quintus  Coepio  bribed  three  of  the 
friends  of  Viriatus  to  murder  him  while  he  was  asleep.  So,  too, 
in  the  north  of  Spain  the  city  of  Numantia  refused  to  open  its  gates 
to  the  I^omans.  and  fought  against  them  for  many  years  (144-133 
B.C.).  At  last  tlie  Romans  had  to  send  their  greatest  general, 
Scipio  Acmilianus ;  and  he  could  only  take  the  city  by  digging  a 
ditch  all  round  it,  so  that  no  one  could  go  in  or  come  out,  till  at 
last  the  Xumantines  almost  died  oi  huno-cr.      Before  thev  surren- 


20  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

123-82  B.  C. 

dered  the  chief  men  killed  themselves,  and  when  the  gates  were 
opened  a  few  only  came  out,  and  they  were  nearly  starved  to  death. 
Numantia  was  taken  in  123  b.c,  and  after  this  Spain  was  made  into 
Roman  provinces. 

The  destruction  of  Numantia  was  the  forerunner  of  the  sub- 
mission of  three-fourths  of  the  Peninsula.  It  inspired  so  much 
dread  into  all  the  native  tribes,  except  those  who  from  the  position 
of  their  country  had  little  to  fear  from  hostile  aggression,  that 
they  dispatched  deputies  to  the  conqueror,  either  to  acknowledge  the 
dominion  or  to  solicit  the  alliance  of  Rome.  Thenceforth  their 
struggles  for  independence  were  neither  frequent  nor  simultaneous. 
During  the  whole  period,  indeed,  from  the  fall  of  Numantia  to  the 
usurpation  of  Sylla,  Spain  presents  the  same  unvarying  picture  of 
dull  uniformity. 

In  the  list  of  proscriptions  consequent  on  the  triumph  of  Sylla 
was  the  name  of  Quintus  Sertorius,  who  had  previously  served 
in  Spain  in  the  capacity  of  tribune  of  the  people. 

This  general  was  fortunate  enough  to  escape  the  bloody  sword 
of  the  dictator,  to  land  in  Hither  Spain,  and  to  win  the  favor  of 
the  Iberian  tribes.  Nine  thousand  men  flocked  to  his  standard, 
and  enabled  him  to  contend  on  the  soil  of  Spain  with  the  forces  of 
his  vindictive  enemy. 

His  first  efforts  were  not  successful.  A  great  portion  of  his 
troops,  through  the  treachery  of  his  lieutenant,  were  routed  by  the 
general  of  Sylla,  and  he  himself  forced  to  seek  safety  on  the  deep. 
With  the  aid  of  some  Cilician  corsairs  he  gained  possession  of 
Iviga;  but  that  place  also  he  was  constrained  to  abandon.  While 
he  was  deliberating  whether  it  would  not  be  his  wisest  course  to 
abandon  fighting,  there  came  to  him  a  deputation  from  the  Lusi- 
tanians,  who  offered  him  the  chief  command  of  their  forces,  on  the 
condition  of  his  protecting  them  against  the  ravages  of  Sylla's  par- 
tisans. Accompanied  by  near  3,000  of  his  veterans,  he  landed  in 
Lusitania,  where  his  forces  were  immediately  increased  to  8,000. 

The  tide  of  his  fortunes  had  now  changed.  The  praetors  of 
Sylla,  Didius  and  Domitius  were  the  first  to  feel  the  weight  of  his 
arm.  His  victory  had  a  wonderful  effect  on  the  Lusitanian  and 
Celtiberian  tribes,  who  henceforth  became  his  warmest  supporters. 
They  opened  to  him  the  gates  of  their  towns,  swelled  the  ranks  of 
his  army,  and  enabled  him  to  triumph  over  the  numerous  forces 
which  advanced  to  crush  him.      In  a  few  short  months  he  found 


THEROMANS  21 

79-77  B.  C. 

his  power  so  completely  established  that  he  succeeded  in  forming 
the  two  nations  into  one  great  state,  solely  dependent  on  himself. 

The  astonishing  success  of  Sertorius  awakened  the  jealousy  no 
less  than  the  fears  of  Sylla.  The  consul  Metellus  Pius  put  his 
legions  in  motion  to  crush  the  aspiring  rebel ;  but  victory  smiled  on 
his  opponent,  whose  forces  were  rendered  more  formidable  by  the 
arrival  of  Perpenna,  at  the  head  of  16,000  Roman  soldiers.  The 
blood-thirsty  dictator  had  ceased  to  exist;  but  his  party  remained, 
headed  by  Metellus.  That  general  being  evidently  unable  to  con- 
tend single-handed  with  Sertorius,  the  famous  Pompey  Was  dis- 
patched to  his  aid  by  the  republic. 

Henceforth  the  fortune  of  the  war  was  various.  For  some 
time  Sertorius  triumphed  over  Metellus  and  Pompey;  but  in  their 
turn  they  reduced  several  of  his  strongest  places,  and  defeated  his 
lieutenant  Perpenna.  At  length  the  two  chiefs  met  near  the  banks 
of  the  Xucar.  Both  exhibited  great  valor;  but  victory,  after  an 
obstinate  and  bloody  struggle,  declared  for  Sertorius.  This  ad- 
vantage, however,  was  useless :  having  effected  a  junction  with 
Metellus,  Pompey  again  made  head  against  the  victor,  who  sought 
refuge  within  his  entrenchments.  Though  he  routed  Pompey,  his 
lieutenant  Perpenna  was  defeated  by  jMetellus  with  a  loss  nearly 
equal.  On  both  sides,  indeed,  the  fortune  was  nearly  balanced :  the 
victory  of  to-day  was  neutralized  by  the  defeat  of  to-morrow.  But 
the  generals  of  the  republic  suffered  the  most,  because  their  losses 
could  not  be  repaired  either  so  soon  or  so  efficaciously  as  those  of 
Sertorius,  who  wielded  at  pleasure  the  resources  of  Lusitania  and 
Celtiberia,  and  who  had  for  allies  the  warlike  tribes  of  Cantabria 
and  the  Asturias. 

The  war  would  still  longer,  perhaps,  have  been  prosecuted 
with  the  same  indecisive  character  had  not  some  peculiar  circum- 
stances hastened  the  catastrophe  of  Sertorius.  The  price  set  on  his 
head  l)y  a  decree  of  Metellus,  and  the  success  of  Pompey  against 
some  of  the  towns  which  had  declared  for  him,  made  some  of  his 
Roman  soldiers  stagger  in  their  fidelity  to  him.  Some  deserted, 
the  rest  were  suspected  by  him.  A  conspiracy  was  formed  by  Per- 
penna, who  had  long  been  jealous  of  his  authority.  Perpenna,  in 
pursuit  of  his  purpose,  raised  a  cup  full  of  wine,  and  let  it  fall  on 
the  floor.  This  was  the  preconcerted  signal.  At  the  same  moment 
one  of  the  traitors  aimed  a  blow  at  Sertorius,  who  attempted  to 
rise:  but  his  hands  were  forciblv  held,  while  a  dozen  poniards  found 


22  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

77-61  B.  C, 

a  way  to  his  heart.  With  Sertorins  expired  the  last  faint  gUmmer 
of  national  independence. 

The  towns  which  had  obeyed  tlie  deceased  chiefs  now  sub- 
mitted to  the  Romans.  Pompey  prosecuted  his  successes  from 
Andakisia  to  the  Pyrenees :  Pampekma,  in  Navarre,  rose  at  his 
command.  After  his  departure  the  praetors  had  to  deal  with  only 
partial  insurrections,  which  were  occasioned  by  their  own  rapacity, 
and  were  repressed  without  difficulty,  until  the  wars  between  Caesar 
and  Pompey  shook  the  Peninsula  from  the  center  to  the  extremities, 
and  rendered  it  the  theater  of  horrors  too  painful  to  be  contem- 
plated. 

Caesar  first  visited  Spain  as  quaestor:  nine  years  afterwards 
he  returned  as  praetor  of  Farther  Spain.  Galicia,  and  such  parts  of 
Lusitania  as  had  hitherto  preserved  their  liberty,  were  the  first  to 
feel  the  weight  of  his  arm,  and  to  submit  to  the  yoke.  When  the 
three  lieutenants  of  Pompey,  to  whom,  as  triumvir,  the  government 
of  Spain  and  Africa  had  been  assigned,  arrived,  they  found  little 
to  do  until  Caesar  returned  a  third  time  to  snatch  these  rich  prov- 
inces from  their  hands. 

The  plan  of  this  great  captain  was  to  attack  Spain  at  two 
points.  While  his  lieutenant,  Fabius,  crossed  and  penetrated  into 
Hither  Spain,  he  landed  at  Ampurias,  and  marched  on  the  Ebro. 
Before,  however,  he  could  effect  a  junction  with  Fabius,  that  officer 
had  sustained  a  reverse  near  Lerida,  from  the  united  forces  of 
Afranius  and  Petreius,  two  of  Pompey's  lieutenants.  But  that 
loss  must  have  been  heavy  which  the  genius  of  Caesar  could  not 
repair. 

To  re-establish  his  communication  with  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  Segra,  and  thereby  to  intercept  on  both  sides  all  supplies  coming 
to  Lerida  and  the  enemy's  camp,  he  resolved  to  adopt  an  expedient 
Avhich  surprised  as  much  as  it  dismayed  them.  That  river  being 
too  deep  and  rapid  to  admit  of  a  bridge  from  the  place  where  he 
lay  encamped,  he  was  preparing  to  divert  a  portion  into  a  reservoir, 
so  that  it  might  be  forded.  The  two  generals  of  Pompey,  however, 
whose  situation  was  already  sufficiently  critical,  did  not  wait  for  the 
success  of  this  unexpected  scheme :  they  left  Lerida,  in  the  intention 
of  crossing  the  Ebro  and  making  Celtiberia  the  future  seat  of  war. 
They  were  soon  overtaken  by  the  indefatigable  Caesar  and  block- 
aded among  the  mountains  which  lie  between  the  Ebro  and  the 
Cinna.      Li  v.'iin  did  they  attempt  to  break  his  lines  and  return  to 


THEROMANS  23 

61-45  B.  C. 

Lerida :  they  were  soon  in  want  of  necessaries,  and  were  at  length 
compelled  to  capitulate. 

Thus  ended  the  first  campaign  of  this  able  captain,  who,  with- 
out risking  the  safety  of  his  troops,  succeeded,  by  his  masterly 
movements,  in  reducing  the  enemy  to  the  last  extremity. 

Of  the  armies  of  Pompey,  25,000  men  still  remained  under 
Varro,  who  commanded  in  Baetica.  The  victor  marched  against 
him,  and  compelled  him  to  surrender  also.  Having  thus  caused  his 
authority  to  be  acknowledged  throughout  the  Peninsula,  he  ap- 
pointed his  lieutenants,  Cassius  and  Lepidus,  over  the  two  great 
provinces,  and  returned  to  Rome. 

The  fall  of  Pompey  in  Africa  did  not  restore  peace  to  the 
Roman  world.  The  son  of  that  famous  man  selected  Spain  as  the 
fittest  scene  for  opposing  the  dreaded  dictator.  Thither  many  of 
his  father's  partisans  had  fled  from  Africa ;  and  there  the  memory 
of  that  father  was  still  cherished  by  many  of  the  native  tribes.  An 
army  sprung  up  on  his  arrival ;  Baetica  declared  for  him,  and  the 
successor  of  Cassius  was  forced  to  escape.  A  fourth  time  did 
Caesar  hasten  to  the  Peninsula  to  support  his  ambitious  projects  by 
the  destruction  of  his  antagonists. 

After  reducing  several  towns  which  had  declared  for  young 
Pompey,  Caesar  pitched  his  camp,  within  sight  of  the  enemy,  on  the 
plains  of  Monda,  about  twenty-four  miles  from  Malaga.  At  first 
the  action  which  ensued  was  unfavorable  to  the  dictator;  his  ranks, 
after  an  obstinate  struggle,  began  to  waver.  His  agitation  was 
extreme:  he  alighted  from  his  horse,  raised  his  helmet,  and  rushing 
into  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  exclaimed,  "  Soldiers,  I  am  your 
Caesar!  Veterans!  after  so  many  victories,  will  you  suffer  your- 
selves to  be  conquered  by  a  youth?  "  Their  courage  was  renewed; 
they  rushed  against  the  enemy ;  the  victory  was  decisive.  Pompey 
fled,  after  losing  30,000  of  his  followers.  The  remnant  of  this 
once  formidable  host  threw  themselves  within  the  walls  of  Monda, 
which,  after  a  bloody  siege,  acknowledged  the  conqueror.  To 
complete  the  success  of  Caesar,  Pompey  himself  was  overtaken 
and  slain,  after  a  vain  effort  to  escape  by  sea  from  the  port  of 
Carteia. 

The  towns  of  Baetica,  which  were  still  held  by  the  adherents  of 
Pompey,  Vvcre  now  reduced  by  Caesar  with  great  celerity.  No 
sooner,  however,  had  he  left  the  country  than  Sextus  Pompeius 
renewed  the   war   in  Lusitania,   and    afterwards    carried    it    into 


S4  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

38  B.  C.-14  A.  D. 

Baetica.  Again  might  the  flames  of  war  have  spread  over  the 
country  had  not  the  death  of  the  dictator  allayed  the  fury  of  the 
adverse  party;  and  the  policy  of  Lepidus  and  Augustus,  to  v^hom  it 
successively  belonged,  succeeded  in  tranquillizing  it.  Some  partial 
disturbances,  indeed,  broke  out  before  the  latter  assumed  "  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Roman  world  " ;  but  they  were  quelled  by  the 
vigorous  measures  of  his  generals. 

Under  the  emperors  Spain  had  no  history  distinct  from  that  of 
the  empire  itself,  of  which  it  became  a  peaceful  province.  Some 
domestic  events,  however,  which  have  been  comparatively  neglected 
by  the  historian  of  the  Roman  world,  may  occupy  a  passing  con- 
sideration. 

No  sooner  was  Octavius  raised  to  the  monarchy  of  the  Roman 
world  than  all  Spain  was  declared  forever  tributary  to  the  em- 
perors. This  subjection  of  so  many  tribes  to  one  supreme  head; 
this  consolidation  of  so  many  territories,  of  which  some  had  been 
independent,  others  in  alliance  with  Rome,  was  justly  considered 
important  enough  to  serve  as  the  basis  of  a  new  system  of  chro- 
nology. Hence  the  Spanish  Era,  which  began  thirty-eight  years 
before  Christ,  and  from  which  the  national  writers  computed  until 
the  fourteenth  century,  when  it  was  superseded  by  the  Christian. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Augustus  was  to  decree  a  new  division 
of  the  country.  The  administration  of  Baetica,  as  being  the  most 
submissive  of  the  provinces,  the  artful  emperor  abandoned  to  the 
senate,  retaining  to  himself  that  of  the  other  two,  on  the  pretext  that 
they  required  the  strong  arm  of  military  authority  to  keep  them 
down :  he  thus  reserved  in  his  own  hands  the  sole  disposal  of  the 
Roman  armies  in  the  Peninsula. 

The  importance  of  his  possessions  in  Spain  was  a  sufficient 
reason  why  he  should  visit  them  in  person.  On  his  arrival  in 
Catalonia  he  found  his  soldiers  hotly  engaged  in  the  Cantabrian 
war.  That  fierce  people,  as  well  as  the  Asturians,  had  hitherto 
scorned  submission  to  the  Romans,  and  had  frequently  lent  their 
assistance  to  the  Vaccaei  in  the  contests  between  them  and  the  in- 
vaders. To  penetrate  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Cantabrian  moun- 
tains was  the  purpose  of  Augustus ;  but  after  a  few  unimportant 
operations,  he  found  that  no  laurels  were  to  be  gained  by  him  in 
such  a  war,  and  he  left  the  prosecution  of  hostilities  to  his  lieutenant 
Antistius.  The  Roman  armies  then  marched  triumphant  over  these 
wild   regions,    which   thus   owned   a   temporary   allegiance  to  the 


THEROMANS  25 

14-69  A.  D. 

emperor.  The  same  success  attended  the  arms  of  Carisius  among 
the  Asturians. 

But  northern  Spain  was  rather  overcome  than  subdued.  Some 
districts  of  Navarre  and  Biscay  were  never  trod  by  Roman  foot, 
and  even  those  who  had  submitted  to  the  Heutenant  of  Augustus 
revolted  as  soon  as  their  oppressors  retired.  Twice  did  the 
Asturians  and  Cantabrians  rise  against  the  Romans;  and  twice 
were  they  obhged  to  submit.  Both  parties,  at  length,  seem  to  have 
become  weary  of  the  war:  so  long  as  the  natives  paid  a  nominal 
obedience  to  the  Romans,  and  forbore  from  harassing  their  neigh- 
bors of  the  plains,  they  were  left  to  the  enjoyment  of  considerable 
freedom.  Thus  were  the  blessings  of  peace  restored  to  the  whole 
country,  200  years  after  the  invasion  of  the  first  Scipio. 

However  selfish  the  policy  of  Augustus,  it  was  often  beneficial 
to  his  subjects.  If  he  held  them  in  the  condition  of  slaves,  he  was 
— not  perhaps  from  principle  so  much  as  calculation — a  clement 
and  magnificent  protector.  To  rescue  Spain  from  the  rapacity  of 
the  local  governors, — the  curse  of  all  conquered  countries, — he  de- 
creed that  in  future  they  should  extort  no  contributions  from  any 
province  on  the  conclusion  of  their  administration.  He  permitted 
any  province,  indeed,  to  testify  its  gratitude  to  deserving  governors, 
but  not  until  sixty  days  after  their  departure.  This  law  was  an 
admirable  one. 

The  reign  of  Tiberius  (14-37  a.d.)  was  a  scourge  to  Spain, 
as  it  was  to  most  other  provinces  of  the  empire.  His  own  rapacity 
was  bad  enough ;  that  of  his  praetors  and  proconsuls  was  infinitely 
worse.  To  this  was  added  a  cruelty  which  never  relented,  and 
which  accounted  the  lives  of  thousands  as  nothing  when  vengeance 
or  avarice  was  to  be  gratified. 

Caligula  was  still  worse.  After  exhausting  the  Roman 
treasury,  by  the  most  shameful  excesses,  he  looked  towards  Spain 
for  the  means  of  replenishing  his  coffers,  and  actually  set  out  from 
Rome  chiefly  with  that  view.  His  tragic  end,  however,  saved  tlie 
Peninsula  from  the  infliction  of  his  presence.  Claudius  and  Nero 
succeeded  to  the  vices  of  their  predecessors,  and  added  considerably 
to  the  stock.  Galba,  the  governor  of  Tarragona,  at  the  entreaty 
alike  of  the  Gauls  and  Spaniards,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  was 
declared  emperor  by  both  Romans  and  natives,  and  his  election  was 
confirmed  by  the  senate,  on  receiving  the  news  of  Nero's  assassin- 
ation.    But  treason  is  not  often  successful.      His  own  assassination, 


26  SPAIN     AND     T  O  K  T  U  G  A  L 

69-272  A.  D. 

after  seven  short  months  of  empire,  might  be  a  warning  to  pos- 
terity, if  indeed  ambition  were  capable  of  profiting  by  any  lesson. 

Vespasian,  and  after  him  Titus,  successfully  labored  to  repair 
the  evils  which  anarchy,  rebellion,  and  continual  bloodshed  had 
brought  on  the  country,  Domitian  undid  their  noble  work;  his 
praetors  and  proconsuls,  accommodating  their  manners  to  his  own, 
left  no  place  free  from  their  monstrous  rapacities.  The  life  of 
Nerva  was  too  short  for  the  welfare  of  the  province,  no  less  than 
for  that  of  humanity.  His  adopted  son  and  successor  Trajan,  a 
Spaniard  by  birth,  and  the  first  stranger  invested  with  the  imperial 
diadem,  was  fortunately  not  less  mindful  of  both.  Well  may 
Spain  boast  of  having  given  to  the  world  one  of  the  greatest  princes 
that  ever  swayed  a  scepter.  Under  him  (97-117  a.d.)  peace 
and  the  arts  flourished  in  the  Peninsula.  His  successor,  Adrian, 
who  was  also  his  countryman,  inherited,  not  indeed  his  talents  or 
his  elevated  qualities,  but  certainly  his  attachment  to  the  country 
which  gave  birth  to  both.  The  same  prosperity  signalized  the  reigns 
of  the  great  and  good  Antoninus  Pius,  and  the  Spaniard  Marcus 
Aurelius,  whose  memory  was  long  held  in  the  same  grateful  af- 
fection. These  four  emperors,  of  whom  three  were  Spaniards  and 
one  a  Gaul,  may  also  claim  the  glory  of  having  rendered  the  world 
happier  during  the  eighty-two  years  of  their  administration  from 
97  to  180  than  at  any  other  period  of  history. 

Of  more  than  thirty  emperors  who  grasped  the  scepter  from 
the  accession  of  Commodus  to  that  of  Honorius,  few  had  any  im- 
mediate connection  with  Spain;  nor  was  the  country  distinguished 
by  much  that  would  interest  a  modern  reader,  if  we  except  the 
introduction  and  progress  of  Christianity,  which  will  soon  be 
noticed.  As  the  imperial  authority  weakened,  the  tyranny  of  the 
local  governors  increased;  the  sinews  of  administration  being  re- 
laxed, and  the  laws  disregarded  by  corrupt  magistrates  and  a 
licentious  soldiery,  there  was  little  security  either  for  persons  or 
property.  To  these  evils  was  added,  under  the  reign  of  Galienus, 
the  terrific  scourge  of  foreign  invasion.  An  irruption  of  the  Suevi, 
the  Franks,  and  other  barbarians  from  the  north  of  Europe  passed 
the  Pyrenees  about  the  year  260  and  laid  several  flourishing  towns 
in  ashes.  During  twelve  years  the  destroying  flood  was  poured 
over  the  opulent  and  defenseless  country;  when  by  the  valor  of 
Posthumus,  the  rival  of  Galienus,  who  held  Gaul  and  Spain  under 
his  sovereign  sway,  it  was  diverted  against  the  shores  of  ]\Iauri- 


T  H  E    R  O  M  A  N  S  ^7 

272-409  A.  D. 

tania.  Traces  of  its  blind  fury  were  discernible  in  the  time  of 
Orosius,  who  wrote  in  the  fifth  century.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
years  of  peace,  however,  were  amply  sufficient  to  repair  the  mis- 
chiefs it  had  done,  but  not  to  give  internal  tranquillity.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  undoubtedly  produced  its  natural  effect  in  Spain  as 
everywhere,  softening  the  ferocity  of  a  fierce  people;  but  then  its 
progress  was  gradual,  and  it  had  to  encounter  every  species  of  op- 
position before  its  authority  was  established.  Constantine  the 
Great  is  said  to  have  owed  his  conversion  to  a  Spaniard. 

From  the  reign  of  Constantine  to  that  of  Honorius  there  is 
still  less  in  the  history  of  Spain  to  distinguish  it  from  that  of  the 
empire. 


Chapter  III 

POLITICAL   AND    RELIGIOUS    STATE    UNDER 
THE    ROMANS 

IT  has  been  already  observed  that  Augustus  divided  Spain  into 
three  provinces,  Baetica,  Lusitania,  and  Tarragona.  Fifty-four 
years  after  his  death,  Otho  added  to  Baetica,  or  rather  incor- 
porated with  it,  the  African  province  of  Tingitania.  This  division 
subsisted  until  the  reign  of  Constantine  the  Great,  who  introduced 
important  changes  into  the  empire.  He  not  only  separated  Tingi- 
tania from  Baetica,  but  dissevered  from  the  Tarraconensian  province 
the  governments  of  Carthagena  and  Galicia :  hence  he  formed  six 
provinces,  Tarragona,  Carthagena,  Galicia,  Lusitania,  Baetica,  and 
Tingitania.  Theodosius  the  Great  added  a  seventh,  the  Balearic 
Isles. 

The  ancient  governors  of  the  two  provinces  of  Hither  and 
Farther  Spain  had  the  supreme  control  over  both  civil  and  military 
affairs,  and  were  termed  consuls  or  praetors.  As  these  dignities 
were  by  their  institution  annual,  those  who  remained  more  than  one 
year  were  called  proconsuls  or  propraetors.  On  the  accession  of 
Augustus,  the  governors  of  Lusitania  and  Tarragona  assumed  the 
title  of  Imperial  Legates  (Legati  Augustales),  while  the  Baetican 
was  still  styled  proconsul.  Each  of  these  great  dignitaries  had  two 
or  three  deputies  or  vice-legates,  who  resided  in  the  great  towns  of 
each  government.  Such  was  the  general  system  until  the  time  of 
Constantine  the  Great.  That  emperor  divided  the  Roman  world 
into  four  vast  dioceses,  each  governed  by  a  praetorian  prefect. 
Spain  was  subject  to  the  prefecture  of  Gaul,  and  was  governed  by  a 
vicar  (vicarius),  on  whom  the  local  governors  were  dependent. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  authority  of  these 
officers  extended  at  first  over  all  the  cities  of  the  Peninsula.  Some 
cities  were  governed  even  in  the  last  resort  by  their  own  laws ; 
some  depended  immediately  on  the  metropolis  of  the  Roman  world ; 
some  were  free,  and  left  to  their  ancient  laws  and  tribunals.  They 
were  colonial,  municipal,  Roman,  allied,  tributary;  and  others  there 
were  which  enjoyed  the  right  of  Latium. 

28 


POLITICAL     AND     RELIGIOUS     STATE      29 


The  colonies  were  peopled  by  the  citizens  of  Rome,  chiefly  by 
soldiers.  The  inhabitants  of  these  establishments  forfeited  not 
the  slightest  of  their  privileges  by  their  location  in  the  provinces; 
they  were  governed  by  the  same  laws  as  the  parent  city,  and  were 
considered,  like  the  non-resident  freemen  of  our  boroughs,  as  es- 
sentially belonging  to  it ;  their  exemptions  from  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  local  governors  and  judges  was  not  the  least  of  the  ad- 
vantages they  possessed.      The  municipal  cities  were  those  which 


4.%! 


•  N 


M  r 


H  i^^^l^^'-^^^ 


SBMN  UNDER  ROMAN  DOMINION 


o 
u 

Z 


were  admitted  to  the  honor  of  Roman  citizenship,  which  were  in 
like  manner  exempted  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  provincial  gov- 
ernors, and  the  inhabitants  of  which  could  aspire  to  the  highest 
dignities  even  in  the  "  eternal  city." 

But  the  distinctions  between  these  various  classes  were  not 
long  maintained.  By  Otho  many  Spaniards  were  admitted  to  the 
rights  of  citizenship ;  by  Vespasian,  such  of  the  cities  as  had  not  the 
privilege  already  were  presented  with  the  right  of  Latium ;  and  by 
Antoninus  every  remaining  barrier  was  removed,  all  his  subjects 
throughout  his  vast  empire  being  declared  citizens  of  Rome:  from 
this  moment  the  civil  constitution  of  that  empire  was  of  necessity 
uniform. 


30  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

The  cities  which  obeyed  the  constitution  of  Rome  were  gov- 
erned in  a  manner  similar  to  those  of  Italy.  Each  had  its  municipal 
council  or  curia,  the  members  of  which  (decuriones),  were  chosen 
from  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  provinces.  Their  office,  how- 
ever, appears  to  have  been  unenviable,  because  it  was  in  all  proba- 
bility gratuitous,  and  because  they  were  responsible  for  the  due 
payment  of  the  customs.  Some  severity  was  required  to  make  men 
of  consideration  undertake  its  numerous  duties,  from  which  the 
favor  of  the  emperor  only  could  exempt  them. 

The  military  state  of  Spain  under  the  Romans  is  a  subject 
little  understood.  That  a  considerable  number  of  troops  for  for- 
eign wars  was  furnished  by  this  important  province  is  attested  by 
numerous  inscriptions ;  but,  except  in  cases  of  difficulty  and  danger, 
the  Roman  troops  in  the  Peninsula  seldom  exceeded  three  legions. 

So  long  as  the  empire  continued  prosperous,  Spain,  notwith- 
standing the  evils  it  was  made  to  endure,  could  not  but  participate 
to  a  certain  extent  in  the  general  prosperity.  The  arts  of  life,  the 
most  elegant  no  less  than  the  useful,  were  taught  to  flourish :  that 
architecture  had  reached  a  high  degree  of  perfection  is  evident  from 
the  numerous  remains  of  antiquity  which  time  had  spared ;  that  agri- 
culture was  cultivated  with  equal  success  is  no  less  apparent  from  the 
testimony  of  that  most  excellent  of  judges,  the  naturalist  Pliny. 
The  riches  of  the  soil,  in  corn,  in  oil,  and  in  fruits,  were  almost 
inexhaustible ;  and  the  sheep  were  held  even  in  higher  estimation 
in  those  days  than  in  the  present.  The  vine  was  cultivated  with  so 
much  success  that  the  juice  of  the  grape  produced  in  the  environs 
of  Tarragona  was  pronounced  equal  to  the  best  wines  of  Italy. 
These  productions,  with  those  of  the  mines,  and  the  demand  for 
native  manufactures,  gave  rise  to  an  extensive  commerce ;  more 
extensive,  indeed,  than  that  which  had  existed  under  the  Cartha- 
ginians. There  was  this  important  difference  between  the  two 
conquering  nations:  while  the  African,  with  the  characteristic 
selfishness  of  a  trader,  engrossed  every  advantage  to  himself,  the 
noble-minded  Roman  admitted  others  to  a  free  participation  in 
those  advantages. 

But  the  most  important  subject  of  the  present  chapter  is  that 
of  religion, — not  paganism,  which,  as  its  state  in  Spain  is  in  no 
respect  different  from  that  of  Italy,  need  not  be  described  here; 
but — Christianity,  the  introduction,  progress,  and  condition  of 
which  must  be  rccrarded  with  attention. 


POLITICAL     AND     RELIGIOUS     STATE      31 

If  tradition  as  an  authority  had  not  long  ceased  to  be  recog- 
nized on  this  side  the  Pyrenees,  the  historian  would  have  little 
difficulty  in  fixing  the  period  of  the  introduction  of  the  Christian 
faith  into  Spain.  During  eighteen  centuries  its  uninterrupted  voice 
has  named  St.  James  the  Elder  as  the  first  herald  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  idolatrous  people  of  that  country.  That  the  apostle  traversed 
the  Peninsula,  from  Lusitania  and  Galicia  to  the  heart  of  Aragon ; 
that  while  at  Saragossa  he  was  honored  by  a  visit  from  the  Virgin, 
and  that  by  her  express  command  he  erected  on  the  spot  a  church 
in  her  honor;  that  after  his  martyrdom  at  Jerusalem  his  body  was 
brought  by  his  disciples  from  Syria  to  Iria  Flavia  (now  El 
Padron),  in  Galicia,  and  thence  transferred  to  Compostella,  to  be 
venerated  by  the  faithful  as  long  as  the  world  shall  endure,  no 
orthodox  Spaniard  ever  doubted.  With  equal  assurance  of  faith, 
and  certainly  with  greater  appearance  of  reason,  it  is  believed  that 
St.  Paul,  in  person,  continued  the  work  of  his  martyred  fellow- 
disciple,  and  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  new  doctrine  in  Catalonia, 
Aragon,  Valencia,  and,  above  all,  in  Andalusia. 

But  whether  these  apostles  or  their  successors  propagated  the 
Gospel  in  the  Peninsula,  certain  it  is  that  Spain  can  adduce  her 
martyrs  as  early  as  the  second  century, — perhaps  even  in  the  first. 

It  was  during  the  reign  of  the  fierce  Diocletian  that  the  fires 
of  persecution  blazed  with  the  greatest  fury  throughout  the  Penin- 
sula, but  their  violence  was  cooled  after  the  death  of  Diocletian. 
During  the  civil  wars  which  ravaged  the  empire  under  Maximian 
and  Constantius  Chlorus,  the  Christians  began  to  breathe.  Con- 
stantine  followed ;  and,  after  his  conversion  the  church  had  peace 
from  without ;  but  within,  the  partisans  of  Athanasius  and  Arius 
clouded  the  horizon  of  her  tranquillity. 

Like  the  other  Christian  provinces  of  the  empire,  Spain  had  its 
heresies.  On  that  of  Arius  we  shall  have  to  dwell  in  the  reign  of 
the  Gothic  kings,  w^hich,  during  the  time  of  Constantine  and  his 
sons,  so  much  distracted  tlie  Christian  world,  and  against  which 
Osius.  the  bishop  of  Cordova,  signalized  himself  witli  a  zeal  only 
inferior  to  that  of  Athanasius  himself.  Far  more  remarkable  was 
the  heresy  of  the  Priscillianists,  with  their  mixture  of  Christianity 
an.'l  the  ancient  Oriental  philosophy  of  dualism. 

So  long  as  Maximus  lived  the  numerous  adherents  of  Pris- 
cillian  v.cre  pursued  with  unrelenting  severity  by  Idatius ;  but  soon 
after   the    death    of    that    emperor    this    turbulent    prelate,    whose 


32  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

cruelties  had  long  revolted  his  episcopal  brethren,  was  banished, 
and  the  heat  of  persecution  began  to  abate.  Yet  Priscillianism  was 
not  extirpated :  notwithstanding  its  renewed  condemnation  by  the 
first  council  of  Toledo,  it  continued  to  distract  the  church  of  Spain 
long  after  the  accession  of  the  Gothic  dynasty. 

Though  the  effects  produced  by  Christianity  on  the  moral 
condition  of  the  Spaniards  were  in  the  highest  degree  beneficial, 
yet  they  were  not  universal ;  paganism  had  shot  its  roots  too  deeply 
and  too  widely  into  the  soil  to  be  plucked  up  with  facility.  Many 
of  the  converts  were  but  nominally  so:  if,  for  the  sake  of  the  ad- 
vantages attending  the  profession  of  the  new  faith  after  it  had  be- 
come the  religion  of  the  state,  they  outwardly  conformed  to  it, 
either  their  hearts  yearned  after  the  superstitions  of  old,  or  their 
lax  rhorality  proved  that  they  were  still  infected  with  the  vices  of 
idolatry.  By  degrees,  too,  the  fervor  of  those  who  embraced 
Christianity  from  conviction  cooled,  and  the  former  severity  of 
their  manners  gave  way  to  licentiousness.  The  bloody  combats  of 
the  Circus  and  the  obscene  representations  of  the  theater — repre- 
sentations which,  according  to  a  contemporary  writer,  could  not  be 
witnessed  without  pollution — were  not  the  only  signs  of  a  rapidly 
increasing  demoralization :  the  rich  neglected  their  wives  for  their 
handsome  servants  and  others;  not,  indeed,  to  the  extent  assigned 
by  the  same  morose  writer,  but  certainly  to  one  fearfully  indicative 
of  the  prevailing  corruption.  The  priesthood,  no  less  than  the 
laity,  were  infected  by  it.  "  Clergymen,"  says  Salvian,  "  who  had 
wives,  and  even  those  living  in  concubinage,  are  raised  to  the  dig- 
nities of  the  church,  to  the  great  scandal  of  the  faithful." 

One  of  the  noblest  effects  of  Christianity  was  the  diminution 
of  slavery.  Under  the  pagan  Romans  many  vexatious  formalities 
were  required  before  manumission  could  be  given  to  a  slave.  Con- 
stantine  allowed  the  act  to  be  in  all  cases  legal  and  binding,  provided 
it  took  place  in  the  church,  in  presence  of  the  priests  and  congre- 
gation. Subsequently  Jews  and  heretics  were  forbidden  to  have 
Christian  slaves ;  and  if  the  slaves  of  the  latter  were  pagan  also, 
they  became  free  by  embracing  the  religion  of  the  Gospel.  A  third 
regulation  conferred  the  right  of  Roman  citizenship  on  all  thus 
publicly  manumitted,  and  also  legalized  the  mere  intention  of  a 
master  to  free  his  slave,  provided  that  intention  were  expressed 
in  presence  of  witnesses. 


PART  II 

THE  PENINSULA  UNDER  THE  GOTHS 
409-755  A.D. 


Chapter  IV 

HISTORY   OF   THE   GOTHS,    409-755   A.D. 

FROM  the  accession  of  Honorius  the  Roman  empire  existed 
only  by  sufferance.  The  fierce  hordes  of  northern  Europe 
now  prepared  to  inundate  the  fertile  provinces  of  the  south, 
and  the  more  powerful  local  governors  to  secure  themselves  an  in- 
dependent sovereignty.  Spain  was  soon  agitated  by  the  spirit 
which  spontaneously  burst  forth  from  Britain  to  Thrace.  While 
Constantine,  who  had  assumed  the  purple,  raised  England  and  the 
Gauls  against  the  feeble  successor  of  the  Caesars,  his  son  Constans 
passed  the  Pyrenees  to  gain  over  the  natives  of  the  Peninsula.  The 
youth  found  or  made  adherents,  and  was  for  a  time  successful ;  but 
in  the  sequel  he  was  compelled  to  return  to  Gaul  for  reinforcements. 
The  appearance  of  another  candidate  for  empire  (Jovinus)  dis- 
tracted the  attention  and  weakened  the  efforts  of  the  kindred  ad- 
venturers ;  and  ultimately  all  these  became  successively  the  victims 
of  imperial  vengeance;  chiefly  by  means  of  the  warlike  tribes  whom 
the  minister  of  Honorius  had  marched  from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic 
to  crush  the  new  insurrections.  But  the  policy  of  that  minister 
was,  if  not  perfidious,  at  least  shortsighted.  The  barbarians  whom 
he  had  thus  introduced  into  the  heart,  and  to  whom  he  thus  betrayed 
the  weakness  of  the  empire,  from  allies  soon  became  masters. 
They  looked  with  longing  eyes  on  the  rich  plains  of  southern 
France  and  of  Spain.  At  length,  finding  the  Pyrenean  barrier  but 
negligently  guarded,  the  Suevi.  under  their  king,  Hermeric,  the 
Alans  under  Atace,  and  the  Vandals,  or  Silingi,  under  Gunderic,^ 
burst  through  it,  and  poured  the  tide  of  destruction  over  the 
Peninsula. 

1  The  Suevi  descended  from  the  .shores  of  the  Baltic.  Their  first  con- 
quests were  Ijoundcd  by  the  Oder  and  tlie  Danube ;  the  name  of  tlie  circle  of 
Stiabia  has  perpetuated  their  earliest  exploits.  The  territory  between  the  Volga 
and  the  Don  was  the  abode  of  the  Alans,  who.  about  the  time  at  which  we  have 
arrived,  fled  before  the  myriads  of  Attila.  The  cradle  of  the  Vandals  was  Scan- 
dinavia. 


36  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

414-419  A.  D. 

The  ravages  of  these  barbarians,  we  are  told,  were  dreadful. 
Towns  pillaged  and  burned,  the  country  laid  waste,  the  inhabitants 
massacred  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex,  were  but  the  beginning 
of  evils.  They  divided  it  by  lot:  Baetica  fell  to  the  Vandals, 
Lusitania  to  the  Alans,  and  Galicia,  with  a  great  portion  of  Leon 
and  Castile,  to  the  Suevi. 

A  fourth  people,  more  formidable  than  the  rest  combined,  came 
to  trouble  the  new  settlers  in  their  possessions.  These  were  the 
Goths  under  Ataulphus,  whom  Honorius  had  the  address  to  remove 
from  Italy,  by  ceding  to  them  the  fertile  provinces  of  southern 
Gaul,  and  the  Peninsula.  Having  established  the  seat  of 
his  kingdom  at  Narbonne,  where  he  married  his  imperial  captive 
Placidia,  he  passed  the  Pyrenees,  made  a  triumphant  entry  into 
Barcelona,  and  from  there  undertook  several  expeditions  against 
the  Vandals.  A  conspiracy  was  formed,  however,  against  his  life, 
and  the  sword  of  a  dwarf  pierced  his  body,  as  he  was  conspicuously 
watching  the  evolutions  of  his  cavalry,  in  the  court-yard  of  his 
palace  at  Barcelona. 

Sigeric  succeeded  in  415  and  his  ruffianly  conduct  instantly 
drew  on  him  the  detestation  of  the  Goths.  Scarcely  had  he  put  to 
death  the  six  surviving  children  of  Ataulphus,  and  compelled  the 
widowed  Placidia  to  adorn  his  triumph  by  walking  barefoot  through 
the  streets  of  Barcelona,  than  another  conspiracy  deprived  him  of 
his  throne  and  his  life.  His  fate  excited  no  commiseration:  he  had 
dealt  in  blood,  and  there  was  evident  retribution  in  his  end. 

The  election  of  the  Goths  now  fell  on  Wallia,  a  chief  every 
way  worthy  of  their  choice.  His  first  expedition,  however,  against 
the  Roman  possessions  in  Africa  was  disastrous.  A  violent  tempest 
destroyed  his  fleet,  and  forced  him  to  relinquish  his  design.  The 
news  of  this  disaster  soon  reached  Gaul,  and  brouglit  Constantius, 
the  general  of  Honorius,  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  army,  towards 
the  Pyrenees.  Wallia  collected  the  remnant  of  his  troops,  and 
hastened  to  receive  him.  Fortunately  for  the  Gothic  king,  love 
rather  than  ambition  occasioned  the  hostile  approach  of  Constan- 
tius. That  general  was  more  anxious  to  gain  possession  of 
Placidia,  whose  hand  had  been  promised  him  by  the  emperor,  than 
to  effect  the  destruction  of  the  king.  No  sooner  did  the  two  armies 
encamp  in  sight  of  each  other  than  he  proposed  peace  on  conditions 
too  advantageous  to  be  rejected.  Wallia  had  only  to  surrender  the 
royal  widow,  and  promise  to  march  against  the  Suevi  and  the  other 


THEGOTHS  37 

420-438    A.   D. 

nations  who  held  possession  of  the  Peninsula,  to  secure  not  merely 
the  neutrality  but  the  favor  of  the  Romans. 

He  therefore  advised  his  soldiers  to  deliver  up  Placidia,  to 
march  against  the  fierce  northern  tribes,  who  were  located  in  a 
country  which  of  right  belonged  to  them  alone,  and  promised  that, 
after  the  conquest  of  the  enemy,  he  would  renew  hostilities  with 
Rome.  A  shout  of  approbation  followed;  Placidia  was  restored, 
and  peace  made  with  the  Romans. 

Under  the  reign  of  Theodored,  Wallia's  successor,  in  420,  the 
Vandals  made  war  on  the  Suevi,  who,  two  years  before,  had 
received  them  as  brothers.  The  latter  retreated  to  the  fastnesses 
of  the  Asturias,  where  they  bade  defiance  to  their  ungrateful  pur- 
suers. The  Vandals  forsook  Galicia,  and  fought  their  way  to 
their  former  settlements  in  Baetica,  whence  Wallia  had  expelled 
them.  To  that  province  they  communicated  their  name — Van- 
dalicia,  which  was  subsequently  changed  into  Andalusia.  There 
they  maintained  themselves,  in  opposition  to  the  imperial  generals. 
The  ports  of  Andalusia  and  Granada  presented  them  with  facilities 
for  pushing  their  successes  on  the  deep.  They  constructed  a  fleet; 
infested  the  Balearic  Isles;  pillaged  the  coast  of  Valencia;  sacked 
the  city  of  Carthagena;  laid  waste  the  shores  of  Mauritania;  and 
returned  to  Seville,  where  the  last  act  of  their  king,  Gunderic,  was 
to  despoil  the  opulent  church  of  St.  Vincent.  They  then  tranquilly 
returned  to  the  seacoast;  and,  to  the  number  of  80,000,  passed 
over  to  Africa,  in  March,  427,  eighteen  years  after  their  arrival 
in  Spain. 

The  retreat  of  these  restless  barbarians  did  not  ensure  tran- 
quillity to  Spain.  The  Suevi,  under  their  new  king,  Hermeric, 
issued  from  their  dark  mountains,  and  bore  down  on  the  peaceable 
inhabitants  of  Galicia.  Having  easily  reduced  them,  the  ambitious 
monarch  pushed  his  successes  into  the  neighboring  provinces,  and 
in  ten  years  became  formidable  alike  to  the  Romans  and  the  Goths. 
But  it  was  reserved  for  his  son  Richilan,  to  whom  in  438,  he 
resigned  his  scepter,  to  raise  the  fame  of  the  nation  to  the  highest 
pitch.  He  descended  into  Andalusia,  routed  the  Romans  on  the 
banks  of  the  Xenil,  and  seized  on  Merida  and  Seville.  Over  his 
new  conquests  lie  held  a  firm  sway  until  the  period  of  his  death. 

In  the  meantime  Theodored  was  no  less  occupied  in  humbling 
the  Roman  power  in  southern  Gaul.  He  was  at  length  induced  to 
grant  peace  to  his  prostrate  enemy.     While  meditating  hostilities 


38  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

451-483  A.   D. 

against  the  triumphant  Suevi,  he  was  summoned  to  encounter  a 
far  more  formidable  antagonist — the  renowned  Attila,  king  of  the 
Huns.  His  well-known  valor  placed  him  at  the  head  of  the  right 
wing  of  the  Franks,  Romans,  and  Goths,  who  combined  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  the  tremendous  torrent.  His  death  on  the  plains  of 
Chalons,  where  the  pride  of  the  barbaric  king  was  humbled,  en- 
deared him  still  more  to  his  subjects,  who  gratefully  elevated  his 
son  Thorismund  to  the  vacant  throne.  But  the  reign  of  the  new 
king  was  brief  and  his  end  tragic.  In  one  year,  at  the  hands  of 
his  two  brothers,  he  was  deprived  of  empire  and  of  life,  in  his 
capital  of  Toulouse;  and  Theodoric  I.,  the  elder  of  the  fratricides, 
was  elected  in  place. 

The  reign  of  this  prince  was  diversified  by  alternate  success 
and  disaster.  He  first  turned  his  arms  against  the  Suevi,  whom 
he  vanquished,  and  made  their  king,  Richiarius,  prisoner;  but 
being  recalled  to  France,  the  army  which  he  left  in  the  Peninsula 
was  routed  by  the  natives  of  Leon,  who  were  indignant  at  the 
excesses  it  committed.  The  whole  country  was  now  in  the  most 
miserable  condition.  Goths  and  Romans  and  Suevi  traversed  it 
in  every  direction,  and  everywhere  left  melancholy  vestiges  of 
their  barbarous  fury.  At  length,  while  preparing  to  conduct  a 
new  army  across  the  Pyrenees  against  Remismund,  king  of  Suevi, 
he  was  assassinated,  it  is  said,  by  his  brother  Euric,  in  his  capital 
of  Toulouse.  Not  even  the  virtues  of  this  prince,  and  he  had  many, 
could  shield  him  from  the  vengeance  of  Heaven. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  Euric  was  to  dispatch  an  army  to 
humble  the  pride  of  the  Suevi.  His  arms  were  eminently  success- 
ful. He  died  in  Aries  a.d.  483,  after  engaging  his  subjects  to 
elect  for  their  king  his  son  Alaric. 

Euric  was  the  founder  of  the  Gothic  kingdom  of  Spain.  The 
extinction  of  the  Roman  sway  and  the  subjection  of  the  Suevi 
rendered  him  absolute  lord  of  the  country.  The  six  kings,  his 
predecessors,  were  rulers  in  Gaul,  not  of  Spain ;  however  they 
might  regard  its  provinces  as  rightfully  their  own,  they  could 
obtain  possession  only  by  force  of  arms.  Their  conquests,  how- 
ever, had  been  partial  and  temporary ;  1)efore  Euric,  the  Peninsula 
was  overrun,  not  subdued.  He  was  also  the  first  legislator  of  his 
nation. 

But  Alaric  was  unable  to  tread  in  the  steps  of  so  great  a 
prince  as  his  father.     Whether  through  pusillanimity  or  prudence, 


c    •;: 


THEGOTHS  39 

483-522  A.  D. 

he  labored  to  secure  peace  for  himself  and  people,  and  patiently- 
put  up  with  affronts  which  would  have  fired  most  princes  of  his 
nation.  In  vain  did  his  father-in-law  Theodoric,  who  had  just 
founded  the  kingdom  of  the  Ostrogoths  in  Italy,  interpose  in  his 
behalf;  the  fierce  Clovis  marched  towards  Poictiers,  where  Alaric 
then  lay,  resolved;  as  he  said,  to  expel  the  heretical  Arians  from  the 
soil  of  Gaul.  In  vain  did  the  king  of  the  Visigoths  endeavor  to 
fortify  himself  in'  his  camp  until  he  received  succors  from  Italy; 
his  own  soldiers,  incensed  at  the  haughtiness  of  the  Franks,  who 
braved  them  in  their  very  trenches,  compelled  him  to  run  the  risk 
of  a  battle.  The  Visigoths,  after  a  sharp  conflict,  were  routed 
with  great  loss,  and  their  king  left  dead  on  the  field.  Clovis  pur- 
sued his  successes,  and  soon  reduced  the  greater  part  of  their 
possessions  in  the  south  of  France  and  entered  victorious  into  their 
capital  of  Toulouse. 

Alaric  left  a  son,  but  as  he  was  too  young  to  be  entrusted  with 
the  government,  his  bastard  brother,  Gensaleic,  had  the  address 
to  procure  the  elective  crown  (506-511).  He  was  unable  to  make 
head  against  the  Franks,  and  still  less,  when  the  Burgiindians  also 
entered  the  field,  to  share  in  the  partition  of  the  rich  spoils 
of  the  Goths.  But  the  king  of  the  Ostrogoths  now  armed  in 
defense  not  only  of  a  kindred  nation,  but  of  his  grandson,  whom  he 
considered  as  unjustly  supplanted  by  Gensaleic.  His  armies  in- 
vested Gaul,  overthrew  the  Franks,  wlio  were  pressing  the  siege 
of  Carcassonne,  and  forced  Gensaleic  to  seek  for  safety  in  Bar- 
celona. The  humbled  Clovis  was  glad  to  sue  for  peace  from  the 
formidable  Theodoric,  who  arrived  in  person  to  direct  the  opera- 
tions of  his  generals.  The  success  of  his  arms  seems  to  have  roused 
his  ambition ;  for,  regardless  of  his  grandson's  rights,  he  united  the 
two  kingdoms  of  the  Ostrogoths  and  Visigoths  under  his  own 
scepter.  The  unfortunate  Gensaleic  was  pursued,  and  defeated 
in  Catalonia,  whence  he  contrived  to  escape  into  France ;  but  he 
was  overtaken  and  slain  by  the  victor. 

Though  Theodoric  II.  never  established  his  court  in  Spain, 
he  was  not  regardless  of  her  interests.  To  Theudis,  one  of  his 
ablest  generals,  he  entrusted  the  administration  of  the  country 
and  the  guardianship  of  his  grandson. 

Amalaric  in  522  was  the  first  Gothic  king  who  established  his 
court  in  Spain,  in  the  city  of  Seville.  To  Athalaric,  the  successor 
of  Theodoric.  he  ceded  that  portion  of  France  which  lies  between 


40  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

506-560  A.  D. 

the  Rhone  and  the  Alps,  and  received  in  return  his  father's  treas- 
ures, which  Theodoric  had  removed  from  Carcassonne  to  Ravenna : 
in  the  rest  of  Gothic  Gaul,  with  all  Spain,  he  was  solemnly  con- 
firmed by  Athalaric. 

To  secure  his  possessions  in  Gaul  against  the  formidable 
Franks,  Amalaric  demanded  and  obtained  the  hand  of  Clotilda, 
the  sister  of  the  royal  sons  of  Clovis.  But  the  union  was  unfortu- 
nate. 

With  Amalaric  ended  the  royal  line  of  the  mighty  Alaric. 
Theudis  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  vacant  throne.  He 
appears  to  have  been  engaged  in  hostilities  for  some  years  with  the 
vindictive  or  ambitious  sons  of  Clovis.  Gothic  Gaul  he  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  to  its  fate,  but  he  vigorously  defended  his  penin- 
sular dominions,  which  were  invaded  and  laid  waste  by  Childebert 
and  Clothaire. 

Of  the  next  two  princes  who  successively  swayed  the  Gothic 
scepter  very  little  is  known.  The  former,  Theudisel,  who  had 
been  the  general  of  Theudis,  and  had  acquired  considerable  fame 
in  the  war  with  the  Franks,  was  a  monster  of  licentiousness.  This 
second  Sardanapalus  had  scarcely  reigned  eighteen  months  before 
his  destruction  was  effected  by  his  enraged  nobles.  He  was  sup- 
ping with  them  one  evening  in  his  palace  at  Seville,  when  the  lights 
were  suddenly  extinguished,  and  a  dozen  swords  entered  his  body. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Agilan,  whose  reign  was  one  continued  series 
of  commotions.  Many  cities  of  southern  Spain  refused  to  recog- 
nize his  election.  Among  these  was  Cordova,  which  armed  against 
him.  He  marched  to  chastise  them,  but  was  vanquished,  with  the 
loss  of  his  son  and  treasures ;  and  was  ignominiously  forced  to 
seek  shelter  within  the  walls  of  Merida.  From  Cordova,  the  insur- 
rection spread  to  other  provinces ;  it  was  headed  by  Athanagild, 
a  Gothic  noble,  who  aspired  to  the  throne.  To  strengthen  his 
party,  this  ambitious  man  called  in  the  assistance  of  the  imperial 
troops,  and  with  these  combined  forces  the  king  was  again  defeated, 
and  ultimately  slain  by  his  own  soldiers,  in  his  retirement  at 
Merida. 

During  the  reign  of  Athanagild,  the  Suevi,  who  had  aban- 
doned paganism  for  the  errors  of  Arius,  in  the  time  of  their  king 
Rechiarius,  about  a  century  before,  were  converted  to  the  orthodox 
faith.  Though  subject  to  the  Goths,  they  had  still  preserved  their 
kingly  form  of  government. 


THEGOTHS  41 

570-582 

The  reign  of  Leovigild  (570  to  580)  is  more  interesting  than 
that  of  his  predecessors.  His  first  war  was  against  the  imperialists., 
whom  he  chased  from  Granada,  and  from  whom  he  took  Malaga, 
Medina-Sidonia,  Cordova,  and  some  other  towns.  Nor  was  he 
less  successful  against  the  rebels,  who,  for  what  reason  the  chron- 
iclers of  the  time  do  not  inform  us,  had  arisen  in  various  parts  of  the 
country,  especially  in  Castile  and  Leon,  to  resist  his  authority. 
The  money  and  persuasions  of  the  imperialists  is  said  to  have  been 
the  chief  cause  of  these  insurrections.  There  is,  however,  more 
reason  to  believe  that  the  difference  of  religion  between  the  Goths 
and  the  Spaniards  may  have  contributed  to  them  in  a  degree  at 
least  equal.  However  this  be,  his  arms  were  triumphant  in  every 
direction.  The  soldiers  of  the  empire  were  again  compelled  to 
take  refuge  in  their  fortresses  on  the  coast,  and  the  fierce  inhab- 
itants of  Biscay,  Alava,  and  even  Cantabria,  to  surrender  at  dis- 
cretion. These  successes  were  not  obtained  without  loss  both  of 
troops  and  of  time :  ten  years,  at  least,  does  he  appear  to  have  been 
occupied  in  this  great  work  of  establishing  peace  in  his  dominions, 
from  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  to  the  mountains  of  Biscay. 

But  the  most  painful,  if  not  the  most  formidable,  of  his 
enemies  he  found  in  his  eldest  son  Ermenigild.  Yet  few  sons 
had  ever  more  reason  for  filial  gratitude.  By  an  affectionate  father, 
on  his  marriage  with  the  Princess  Ingunda,  daughter  of  the  famous 
Brunichilda  and  of  Sigebert  (which  was  celebrated  in  Toledo  in 
582,)  he  had  been  associated  in  the  royal  dignity,  and  in  every 
other  respect  treated  with  the  utmost  liberality.  But  Ingunda  was 
orthodox,  and  Gosvinda,  the  second  wife  of  Leovigild,  a  professor 
of  the  Arian  sect.  The  two  queens  could  not  long  agree :  the  one 
was  resolved  that  her  stepdaughter  should  embrace  the  religion  of 
the  Goths ;  the  other,  that  no  force  on  earth  should  induce  her  to 
do  so. 

Ermenigild  had  not  long  been  established  in  his  new  palace 
before  he  abjured  Arianism,  and  embraced  the  Catholic  religion. 
His  conversion  was  chiefly  the  work  of  his  consort,  who  had 
acquired  great  ascendency  over  him ;  but  it  was  doulitless  hastened 
by  the  arguments  of  his  uncle,  St.  Leander,  the  bishop  of  Seville 
(his  mother,  Theodosia,  the  first  wife  of  Leovigild,  is  celebrated 
as  the  sister  of  three  saints).  Leovigild,  though  of  a  soul  naturally 
elevated,  had  yet  something  of  the  violence  which  characterized 
his  queen.     He  heard  with  indignation  of  what  he  termed  his  son's 


42  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

582-586 

recreancy;  and  it  is  probable  that,  in  the  first  movements  of  his 
anger,  he  declared  that  the  crown  of  the  Goths  should  never  adorn 
the  brow  of  an  apostate.  The  breach  was  doubtless  widened  by 
their  respective  queens,  until  it  ended  in  open  hostility. 

What  gives  confirmation  to  the  suspicion  that  Ermenigild 
led  the  way  to  the  disasters  which  followed  is  the  fact  that  he 
opened  an  intercourse  with  the  enemies  of  his  father  immediately 
after,  perhaps  at  the  time  of,  his  conversion.  He  allied  himself 
with  the  Greeks,  and  dispatched  Leander  to  Constantinople  to 
obtain  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, — a  commission  which  that 
prelate  was  not  ashamed  to  execute.  He  again  connected  himself 
with  the  Greeks,  the  most  faithless  and  most  formidable  enemies 
to  the  repose  of  Spain ;  instigated  the  natives  to  rebellion,  and  at 
the  head  of  this  combined  force  made  an  irruption  into  Estre- 
madura.  The  indignation  of  Leovigild  may  well  be  conceived. 
Then  it  was  that  the  king,  whose  inflammable  temper  seldom 
required  the  torch  of  excitement,  broke  out  into  a  fit  of  ungov- 
ernable fury,  and  gave  orders  for  the  execution  of  the  youth. 
The  order  was  but  too  promptly  obeyed :  the  ministers  of  vengeance 
hastened  to  the  dungeon,  and  a  hatchet  cleft  the  head  of  the  prince 
of  the  Goths. 

After  the  news  of  Ermenigild's  death  in  584  the  brothers  of 
Ingunda  armed  in  the  cause  of  their  widowed  sister.  At  the  same 
time  the  Suevi  showed  a  disposition  to  be  restless,  and  prepared  to 
descend  from  the  mountains  of  Galicia,  on  the  plains  of  central 
Spain.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  promptitude  with  which  Leovi- 
gild met  these  threatening  disasters.  While  he  himself  marched  to 
subdue  his  rebellious  vassals,  whose  nationality  he  had  long  resolved 
to  destroy,  he  dispatched  his  son  Recared  into  Gaul  to  oppose  the 
Franks.  Both  expeditions  were  eminently  successful.  In  the 
former  he  was  materially  aided  by  the  dissension  which  prevailed 
among  the  Suevi,  of  whom  a  considerable  number  were  hostile  to 
their  reigning  monarch,  the  usurper,  Andeca.  The  new  king  was 
served  as  he  had  served  the  lawful  ruler,  Eboric, — his  head  was 
shaven  and  he  was  consigned  to  a  monastery.  All  Galicia  sub- 
mitted, and  a  final  period  was  put  to  the  domination  of  the  Suevi, 
177  years  after  their  arrival  in  Spain.  Li  the  latter  expedition 
Recared,  after  various  successes,  expelled  the  invaders  from  Gothic 
Gaul. 

This  great  prince  was  now  undisputed  master  of  the  Renin- 


THEGOTHS  43 

587-610 

sula,  with  the  exception  of  some  maritime  fortresses  still  held  by 
the  Greeks.  Unfortunately,  however,  for  his  fame,  he  stained 
the  luster  of  a  splendid  reign  by  persecuting  the  orthodox  or 
Catholic  party. 

Leovigild  died  in  587,  very  shortly  after  his  successes  over 
the  Suevi.  A  year  before  his  death  he  associated  his  son  in  his 
royal  dignity,  probably  as  a  reward  for  the  abilities  and  courage 
which  that  prince  had  exhibited  in  the  war  with  the  Franks.  His 
character  will  be  best  learned  from  his  acts.  His  greatest  glory, 
in  a  Spaniard's  eye,  is  his  suspected  conversion  to  the  Catholic 
faith  a  few  days  before  his  death.  If  the  alleged  change  were  less 
disputable,  we  should  hear  no  more  of  his  defects ;  they  would  be 
carefully  covered  by  the  veil  of  orthodoxy. 

On  the  death  of  his  father  Recared  I.  was  unanimously 
acknowledged  sole  king  of  the  Goths. 

In  about  a  year  after  his  accession  this  prince  conceived  the 
hardy  project  of  reclaiming  his  subjects  from  heresy.  Scarcely 
had  the  Gothic  monarch  effected  the  conversion  of  his  subjects 
when  he  was  called  to  defend  those  of  southern  Gaul  against  Gon- 
tram,  king  of  the  Franks,  who  burned  to  retrieve  the  honor  of  his 
arms,  so  sullied  during  the  last  war  with  Leovigild.  A  force  of 
60,000  men  seemed  sufficient  to  extinguish  forever  the  Gothic 
power  in  Gaul.  Not  less  signal  was  his  success  over  the  Basques, 
who,  with  their  characteristic  restlessness,  had  long  harassed  the 
neighboring  provinces.  The  imperialists,  too,  he  humbled,  and 
compelled  them  to  seek  refuge  in  their  fortresses. 

The  rest  of  this  monarch's  reign  was  a  continual  effort  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  his  people;  his  administration  was  beyond 
example  prosperous,  and  he  enjoyed  to  an  unrivaled  extent  their 
confidence  and  affection.     He  died  in  601. 

Of  the  eleven  succeeding  sovereigns  little  is  known,  and  that 
little  is  not  interesting.  In  general  their  reigns  were  brief,  and 
their  actions  unimportant,  so  that  we  have  the  less  reason  to  regret 
the  scantiness  of  our  historic  materials.  Liuva,  the  eldest  son  and 
successor  of  Recared,  gave  the  most  favorable  promise  of  a  wise 
and  happy  reign,  but  ere  two  years  were  passed  he  was  assas- 
sinated by  the  same  \\'iteric  whom  his  father's  clemency  had  par- 
doned. Witeric  obtained  the  object  of  his  guilty  ambition,  but 
had  little  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on  his  success.  In  his 
wars,  too  obscure  to  be  noticed,  he  was  uniformly  unfortunate,  and 


44  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

610-653 

in  his  family  he  was  not  more  to  be  envied.  He  had  one  advantage, 
— an  advantage  not  always  enjoyed  by  the  Visigoth  monarchs  of 
Spain, — that  of  dying  a  natural  death.  Sisebert,  whose  brows 
were  next  adorned  with  this  dangerous  diadem,  was  much  superior 
to  his  immediate  predecessors.  His  successes  over  both  the 
Basques  and  the  Imperialists  were  more  signal ;  they  were  also 
more  solid,  since  he  reduced  and  retained  several  fortresses  belong- 
ing to  the  latter ;  those  which  lay  near  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  were 
lost  to  them  forever.  But  he  deserves  greater  praise  for  his 
humanity  than  for  his  valor  or  skill  in  war.  Strange  that  this 
prince,  who  was  thus  indulgent  to  his  very  enemies,  should  so 
rigorously  have  persecuted  his  Jewish  subjects!  He  published  an 
edict  which  left  them  no  alternative  but  baptism  or  scourges  and 
utter  destitution.  Eighty  thousand  of  the  poor  wretches  submitted 
to  the  rite ;  a  great  number  escaped  into  France ;  such  as  remained 
and  were  obstinate  in  their  faith  were  treated  with  great  cruelty. 
He  died  in  621.  His  son,  Recared  H.,  reigned  only  three  months. 
Swintila,  the  next  in  succession,  is  represented  as  a  strange  com- 
pound of  great  and  vicious  qualities ;  at  least  his  life  exhibited,  at 
two  different  periods,  a  strange  contrast  with  itself.  On  the  one 
side  he  had  the  glory  of  effecting  what  his  predecessors  had 
attempted  in  vain, — he  reduced  all  the  fortresses  held  by  the  imperi- 
alists, and  forever  ended  their  influence  in  the  Peninsula ;  he  was 
thus  the  first  Gothic  monarch  of  all  Spain.  With  equal  success 
did  he  quell  the  commotions  of  the  Basques,  to  arrest  whose  future 
ravages  he  built  a  town  and  fortress,  now  called  Olite.  Nor  was 
his  reputation  as  a  monarch  inferior  to  his  fame  as  a  warrior.  On 
the  death  of  this  monarch  the  choice  of  the  Goths  fell  on  Chintila, 
who,  in  conformity  with  the  regulation  just  mentioned,  convoked 
the  prelates  at  Toledo  to  confirm  his  election.  His  successor, 
Tulga,  who  was  elected  in  640,  was  also  a  model  of  the  peaceful 
virtues.  His  easiness  of  disposition,  however,  and  his  youth 
appear  to  have  been  fatal  to  internal  peace.  To  deter  his  restless 
nobles  from  their  favorite  inclination  to  treason,  he  is  said,  on 
authority,  however,  somewhat  disputable,  to  have  punished  with 
peculiar  severity  even  the  relations  and  descendants  of  such  as  were 
known  to  have  plotted  against  the  former  sovereigns.  Of  the  fear 
inspired  by  his  rigor,  no  better  proof  could  be  adduced  than  the 
fact  that,  in  opposition  to  the  custom  and  wishes  of  the  Goths,  he 
associated  with  him  in  the  royal  dignity  his  son  Receswind.  and 


THEGOTHS  45 

653-673 

that  on  his  death  in  653  that  prince  remained  in  secure  possession 
of  the  crown.  Not  that  no  efforts  were  made  to  snatch  it  from  this 
prince's  brow.  The  Gothic  nobles  could  not  see  with  much  com- 
placency any  advance  towards  the  hereditary  transmission  of  a 
dignity  which  each  might  hope  one  day  to  possess.  Receswind 
died,  at  an  advanced  age,  in  672. 

After  the  death  of  Receswind  the  eyes  of  the  Gothic  electors 
were  turned  on  Wamba,  whose  wisdom  and  virtues  were  well 
known  to  the  whole  nation.  But  this  excellent  man,  who  had 
filled  some  of  the  most  honorable  posts  in  the  monarchy,  and  had 
found  little  happiness  in  greatness,  was  little  inclined  to  accept  the 
proffered  dignity.  He  alleged  his  advanced  age,  and  his  conse- 
quent incapacity  to  undertake  duties  requiring  such  labor  and 
activity.  Prayers  and  tears  were  vainly  employed  to  move  him. 
At  length  one  of  the  dukes  of  the  palace  placed  a  poniard  at  his 
breast  and  bade  him  choose  between  the  sepulchre  and  a  throne. 
Such  a  choice  was  no  longer  difficult,  and  Wamba  reigned. 

But  though  Wamba  was  so  strongly  attached  to  the  tranquil 
scenes  of  retired  private  life,  he  was  eminently  fitted  for  the  duties 
of  royalty  and  was  fully  equal  to  the  difficulties  of  his  new  situation. 
With  inconceivable  rapidity  he  first  proceeded  to  reduce  the  north- 
ern mountaineers,  whom  he  soon  compelled  to  implore  his  mercy. 
He  was  now  consequently  at  liberty  to  march  against  a  more  for- 
midable enemy. 

In  the  meantime  an  artful  Greek,  Duke  Paul,  had  prevailed  on 
the  Goths  to  proclaim  him  king.  By  representing  Wamba  as  dis- 
gusted with  the  cares  of  the  scepter,  and  anxious  to  return  to  pri- 
vate life;  by  exaggerating  the  number  and  force  of  the  rebels  on 
various  parts  of  the  frontiers ;  by  loudly  asserting  the  inutility  of 
any  efforts  to  restore  them  by  the  lawful  ruler;  and,  above  all,  by 
flattering  alike  the  prejudices  and  passions  of  the  people,  and  by 
union  of  interests  with  some  powerful  leaders,  the  crown  of 
Recared  had  been  placed  on  his  head  in  the  Gallo-Gothic  capital 
of  Narbonne.  This  intelligence  flew  to  the  camp  of  Wamba  in 
Cantabria.  The  prudent  W^amba,  after  the  successful  issue  of  the 
Cantabrian  war.  marched  towards  Catalonia.  On  the  confines  of 
that  province  he  divided  his  forces  into  three  considerable  bodies, 
of  which,  while  one  was  conveyed  by  sea,  the  other  two  proceeded 
towards  the  Pyrenees  by  two  different  routes.  Barcelona  submitted 
almost  without  resistance ;  Gerona  offered  none ;  two  of  his  gen- 


46  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

586-702 

erals  speedily  reduced  the  fortress  of  Clausina,  on  the  site  of  the 
modern  Clusas,  and  made  Hilderic  and  Ranosind  prisoners.  The 
victorious  king  now  marched  on  Narbonne,  in  the  hoi)e  of  ending 
the  war  by  the  reduction  of  that  capital  and  the  seizure  of  the 
rebel. 

The  reduction  of  Narbonne  was  followed  by  that  of  other 
strong  places  in  the  neighborhood.  Wamba  pacified  the  whole  of 
Gothic  Gaul,  deposed  some  governors,  and  created  others,  and 
having  repaired  the  towns  which  had  been  injured,  and  banished  the 
Jews,  returned  to  his  capital  triumphant. 

After  those  glorious  exploits  he  applied  his  undivided 
cares  to  the  interests  of  his  subjects.  By  cultivating  the  arts  of 
peace,  by  bettering  the  temporal  condition  of  the  people,  by  encour- 
aging the  clergy  to  greater  diligence,  by  strengthening  the  walls 
of  Toledo,  and  by  causing  justice  to  be  administered  in  mercy,  he 
secured  the  confidence  of  his  kingdom.  The  bases  of  his  character 
seem  to  have  been  incorruptible  integrity,  an  ardent  zeal  for  his 
country's  good,  and  a  rare  union  of  moderation  with  firmness.  He 
was  also  unrivaled  for  prudence, — he  provided  for  everything. 
Foreseeing  the  enterprises  to  which  the  fanatic  ambition  of  the 
Saracens  would  inevitably  impel  them,  he  prepared  a  fleet  for  the 
defense  of  the  coast.  He  had  soon  to  congratulate  himself  on  his 
prophetic  caution.  About  the  year  677  a  fleet  of  170  barques 
filled  with  these  barbarians  passed  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  and 
attempted  to  land ;  they  were  assailed,  dispersed,  or  taken  by  the 
ships  of  the  king,  whose  vigor  long  kept  the  Mussulmans  in  awe. 
Though  masters  of  nearly  all  northern  Africa,  from  the  Nile  to 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  they  wisely  respected  for  many  years  the  ter- 
ritories of  the  Goths.  Had  Wamba's  successors  Ervigius  and 
Ergica  had  equal  prudence  and  activity,  the  scourge  of  Saracenic 
domination,  the  greatest,  perhaps,  that  ever  afflicted  any  people, 
would  probably  have  been  forever  averted  from  Spain. 

Of  Witiza,  to  whom  we  now  pass,  we  know  little  that  is  cer- 
tain, but  much  that  is  apocryphal.  Over  his  character,  his  actions, 
and  even  his  death  there  rests  a  cloud  of  uncertainty  which  will 
probably  never  be  removed.  It  is,  however,  agreed  that  in  the 
beginning  of  his  reign  he  evinced  many  great  qualities;  that  he 
redressed  many  grievances  inflicted  by  his  father  Ergica  and  re- 
stored their  possessions  and  liberty  to  manvwho  had  been  unjustly 
deprived  of  both,  and  that  he  remitted  the  heavv  arrears  of  taxes 


THEGOTHS  47 

702-711 

due  at  his  accession, — nay,  that,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  their 
being  collected,  he  caused  the  books  in  which  the  names  of  the 
defaulters  were  contained  to  be  publicly  burned.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  appears  no  less  true  that  the  excellent  qualities  deducible 
from  such  acts  were  associated  with  others  of  a  very  different 
description    or  that  his  character  must  soon  have  changed. 

Amid  the  darkness,  however,  which  covers  this  period  of 
the  national  history  it  appears  certain  that  the  vices  of  Witiza 
drew  on  him  the  indignation  of  the  Goths,  and  that  he  was  actually 
driven  into  exile  by  King  Roderic.  Probably,  however,  the  two 
princes  reigned  at  the  same  time,  the  one  at  Toledo,  the  other  in 
Andalusia,  until  the  arms  of  the  latter  triumphed  and  secured  him 
the  undivided  possession  of  the  country.  But  at  this  distance  of 
time  nothing  is  left  us  but  conjecture ;  and  the  chief  actions  of 
Witiza,  like  those  of  his  more  famous  successor,  must  remain  for- 
ever veiled  from  the  knowledge  of  man ;  all  that  we  can  certainly 
know  is    that  Roderic  ascended  the  throne  of  the  Goths  in  709. 

The  circumstances  which  accompanied  the  elevation  and  fall 
of  this  prince,  who  appears  to  have  been  a  descendant  of  Chindas- 
wind,  are  as  doubtful  as  any  other  events  of  this  dark  period.  The 
amour  of  Roderic  with  Count  Julian's  daughter,  and  its  fatal  conse- 
quences, must  be  rejected  by  historic  criticism, — not  so  much  that 
they  are  at  variance  with  probability  as  that  they  have  no  authentic 
foundation  in  ancient  chronicles.^ 

Throughout  this  cloud  of  darkness  and  of  doubt  some  events 
are  faintly  visible  which  may  be  admitted  as  facts.  It  appears 
certain  that  Roderic  owed  his  crown  to  a  party  which  rose  against 
Witiza,  that  the  dethroned  monarch  was  blinded,  or  driven  into 
exile,  that  the  two  sons  of  Witiza,  with  their  relations.  Count 
Julian  and  Oppos  the  archbishop,  still  kept  alive  the  embers  of 
civil  strife;  and  that,  finding  they  were  unable  to  contend  any 
longer  with  the  victorious  king,  they  resolved  to  call  in  the  Arabs, 
with  the  design,  not  of  delivering  the  country  to  those  infidels,  but 
of  humbling  the  pride  of  Roderic  and  of  replacing  him  by  one  of 
the  sons  of  the  late  monarch. 

The  generals  of  the  caliph  had  long  cast  a  greedy  eye  on  the 
rich  provinces  of  the  Peninsula,  and  their  joy  was  extreme  on 
learning  the  deadly  divisions  of  the   Goths,   and  on   receiving  so 

-  According  to  tlic  legend,  Julian  took  vengeance  on  King  Roderic  by  betray- 
ing the  country  to  the  ^Ioors. 


48  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

711 

unexpected  an  invitation  to  interfere  between  them.  The  emir, 
Muza  ben  Nozeir,  on  whom  the  cahph  AbdelmeHc  ben  Meruan 
had  conferred  the  command  of  the  troops  destined  to  finish  the 
subjugation  of  the  western  provinces  of  Africa,  and  who,  for  his 
great  exploits,  had  been  confirmed  in  his  authority  by  the  suc- 
ceeding cahph,  Wahd  Abul  Abbas,  was  the  general  to  whom  the 
party  of  Witiza  applied  for  aid. 

No  sooner  was  Muza  satisfied  that  the  Gothic  monarchy,  how- 
ever splendid  in  its  outward  appearance,  was  all  rottenness  within, 
than  he  hastened  his  preparations.  From  the  port  of  Ceuta  he  dis- 
patched a  chosen  body  of  1,500  horse,  under  the  command  of  his 
valiant  lieutenant  Tarik  ben  Zeyad.  This  insignificant  force  could 
not  be  intended  for  conquest,  but  merely  to  sound  the  disposition  and 
courage  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  fidelity  of  Count  Julian  and  his 
associates.  The  invaders  landed  on  the  coast  of  Andalusia  and 
ravaged  the  country  with  perfect  impunity:  not  the  slightest  oppo- 
sition was  made  to  their  carrying  away  their  plunder  and  captives. 
Tarik  returned  in  triumph  to  Tangier,  and  was  soon  afterwards 
dispatched  a  second  time,  at  the  head  of  a  much  more  formidable 
armament,  to  strike  a  decisive  blow  for  empire  and  the  faith.  Some 
opposition  was  attempted  to  his  landing  at  Algeziras.  but  it  was 
speedily  dissipated.  He  entrenched  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  rock 
Calpe,  the  projecting  portion  of  which  has  since  been  called  Gibral- 
tar.^ This  memorable  disembarkation  took  place  on  the  5th  day  of 
the  moon  Regeb,  a.h.  91,  which  corresponds  to  April  30,  a.d.  711. 
The  governor  of  Andalusia,  Theodomir  (the  Tadmir  of  the 
Arabs),  seeing  that  his  handful  of  troops  would  be  utterly  useless 
in  arresting  the  tide  of  invasion,  hastily  demanded  succor  from 
Roderic.  Startled  at  this  unexpected  danger,  the  king,  who  appears 
even  still  to  have  been  occupied  in  reducing  the  adherents  of  Witiza's 
family,  immediately  dispatched  a  strong  body  of  cavalry  to  rein- 
force his  general.  Theodomir  now  advanced  towards  the  enemy, 
who  are  said  to  have  been  alarmed  at  first  by  the  number  of  the 
Goths,  and  even  to  have  meditated  returning,  when  Tarik  set  fire 
to  the  vessels  which  had  conveyed  them,  and  thus  left  them  no  escape 
but  in  their  own  valor.  Again  were  the  Christians  defeated ; 
troops  of  Moorish  cavalry  now  scoured  the  country  in  all  directions 
and  reduced  with  incredible  rapidity  the  unprotected  towns  which 
they  assailed. 

3  Gibal-Tarik,  a  mountain  of  Tarik,  which  is  easily  corrupted  into  Gibraltar. 


THEGOTHS  49 

710-711 

Roderic,  like  the  rest  of  his  nation,  was  convinced  that  the 
warfare  was  too  serious  to  be  intrusted  to  a  minor  hand,  or  to  be 
met  by  partial  measures.  At  the  head  of  the  whole  force  of  the 
Goths,  amounting,  it  is  said,  to  90,000  men,  he  advanced  against 
the  audacious  invaders.  He  encountered  them  on  the  plains  of  the 
modem  Xeres  de  la  Erontera,  about  two  leagues  from  Cadiz  and 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  Guadalete.  The  battle  commenced  on 
one  of  the  latter  days  in  July,  that  is,  about  three  months  after  the 
disembarkation  at  Algeziras.  The  fight  had  continued  some  time, 
to  the  disadvantage,  we  are  told,  of  the  Mohammedans,  whose 
ranks  were  gradually  giving  way,  when  Tarik  rode  among  them, 
showing  them  that  flight  could  not  avail  them,  destitute  as  they 
were  of  ships  to  convey  them  back,  and  cut  off,  as  most  of  them 
would  inevitably  be,  in  the  retreat.  He  added  that  to  rush  against 
the  enemy  was  less  hazardous  than  flight;  that  courage  was  their 
only  resource,  Allah  their  only  hope.  Bidding  them  imitate  his 
example,  he  plunged  among  the  Gothic  squadrons  and  with  his 
scimitar  opened  a  way  before  him.  The  example  was  not  lost : 
a  new  ardor  seized  on  the  jNIohammedans,  who  rushed  after  him, 
sure  either  of  victory  or  of  paradise.  Roderic,  who  had  valiantly 
maintained  his  post  throughout  this  terrific  struggle,  was  easily 
known  by  the  ensigns  of  his  dignity,  and  was  cut  down  by  the 
weapon  of  Tarik.  Before  the  king  fell,  however,  Oppas  and  the 
sons  of  Witiza  are  said  either  to  have  abandoned  the  field  or  to 
have  joined  the  invaders.  Treachery,  the  death  of  the  royal  Goth, 
and  the  renewed  vigor  of  the  Mohammedans  were  fatal  to  the 
already  wearied  Christians,  whose  slaughtered  bodies  soon  covered 
the  plain.  The  head  of  the  king  was  sent  to  Muza,  and  by  that 
emir  forwarded  to  the  court  at  Damascus. 

Thus  fell  the  monarchy  of  the  Goths,  after  one  of  the  best 
contested  and  most  sanguinary  battles  in  all  history.  That  the 
Christians  would  have  remained  victors  had  not  treachery  destroyed 
them  may  reasonably  be  inferred  from  their  superiority  in  number. 
It  is  impossible,  however,  to  feel  much  sympathy  for  their  fate: 
their  cruel  despotism  over  their  slaves,  their  horrible  persecution 
of  such  as  differed  from  them  in  religion,  must  brand  the  memory 
of  these  tyrants  and  bigots  with  everlasting  infamy.  The  Visi- 
gothic  monarchy  was  founded  in  usurpation  and  blood,  and  its  end 
was  correspondent. 

Success  so  signal  and  unexpected  astonished  Muza.  and  per- 


50  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

711 

haps  displeased  him.  In  his  letters,  indeed,  he  affected  great  satis- 
faction at  it;  but  the  base  envy  which  had  taken  possession  of  his 
heart  was  but  too  apparent  in  his  ordering  Tarik  to  remain  for  a 
time  inactive,  on  the  pretext  that  the  army  required  reinforcement 
before  new  conquests  were  attempted.  His  object  was  now  to  pass 
over  to  the  Peninsula  and  reap  the  laurels  which  another  had 
merited ;  laurels,  indeed,  which,  in  his  letter  to  the  caliph,  he  mod- 
estly attributed  to  himself.  The  motive  for  this  required  suspension 
of  hostilities  was  seen  and  despised  by  Tarik.  Tarik,  with  true 
Mussulman  duplicity,  feigned  reluctance  to  disobey  the  commands 
of  his  superior,  and  seemed  to  yield  only  in  compliance  with  the 
expressed  wishes  of  his  officers,  and  with  the  urgency  of  circum- 
stances. He  now  rode  among  his  troops,  praised  them  for  their 
past  valor,  and  promised  them  new  conquests.  To  his  honor  it 
must  be  added  that  he  enjoined  moderation.  Having  divided  his 
army  into  three  bodies,  he  sent  one,  headed  by  Mugueiz  el  Rumi, 
to  besiege  Cordova;  another,  under  the  orders  of  Zayd  x\ben 
Kesadi,  was  directed  to  move  on  Malaga;  with  the  third  he  hast- 
ened towards  Toledo. 

In  the  meantime  the  Goths,  or  rather  some  of  the  more  valiant 
nobles,  in  711  acknowledged  Theodomir  as  the  successor  of  Roderic; 
not,  perhaps,  with  the  view  of  offering  any  successful  resistance, 
but  of  obtaining  more  favorable  terms  from  the  victors.  Roderic 
was  therefore  not,  strictly  speaking,  "  the  last  of  the  Goths."  After 
his  fall  the  scepter  was  swayed,  though  with  sadly  diminished 
splendor,  by  Theodomir  and  Athanagild. 

Mugueiz  el  Rumi,  on  his  arrival  under  the  walls  of  Cordova, 
summoned  the  inhabitants  to  surrender.  Confiding,  however,  in 
the  strength  of  their  fortifications  and  in  the  valor  of  some  soldiers 
who  had  escaped  from  the  massacre  of  Xeres,  the  Cordovans  refused 
to  obey  the  summons.  When  night  arrived  the  Moorish  general  is 
said  to  have  ordered  1,000  horsemen,  each  with  a  foot  soldier 
behind,  to  swim  over  the  Guadalquivir.  The  passage  was  no  sooner 
effected  than  the  infantry  marched  in  profound  silence  to  the  walls, 
which  they  scaled  with  little  difficulty,  and  having  opened  one  of 
the  gates,  they  admitted  the  cavalry,  followed  by  another  detach- 
ment from  the  enemy.  The  governor  with  400  men  fled  to  a 
church,  in  which  they  entrenched  themselves,  while  the  rest  of  the 
inhabitants  submitted  without  opposition.  They  were  treated  with 
clemency,  but  the  unfortunate  governor  and  his  party  were  put  to 


T  H  E     G  O  T  H  S  61 

713 

the  sword.  Malaga  and  Elvira  also  received  Moorish  garrisons, 
and  the  victor  was  thus  at  liberty  to  join  his  troops  with  those  of 
Tarik  under  the  walls  of  Toledo. 

This  opulent  city  had  but  few  defenders :  some  of  the  nobles 
had  fled ;  some  had  joined  the  banners  of  Theodomir  in  Murcia  and 
Granada ;  others  were  too  hopeless  of  success  to  dream  of  taking  up 
arms.  It  was  evident  that  an  honorable  capitulation  only  could 
save  the  place  from  the  horrors  consequent  on  a  forcible  entry.  The 
conditions  were  accepted,  hostages  were  given,  and  Tarik  with  a 
portion  of  his  troops  made  a  triumphant  entry  into  Toledo.  He 
took  possession  of  the  royal  palace,  in  which,  among  other  riches, 
he  is  said  to  have  found  twenty-five  crowns  of  gold,  corresponding 
with  the  number  of  Gothic  kings  from  Alaric  to  Roderic. 

At  this  period  Muza  arrived  in  Spain,  breathing  vengeance 
against  the  man  who,  by  disobeying  his  commands,  had  reaped  so 
rich  a  harvest  of  glory  to  his  prejudice.  Besides  18,000  men,  he 
brought  with  him  many  noble  Arabic  chiefs.  He  laid  siege  to 
Seville,  which  he  reduced  in  a  month.  Carmona  and  other  neigh- 
boring cities  shared  the  same  fate.  Thence  he  passed  into 
Lusitania,  and  almost  without  halting  in  his  rapid  march  seized 
on  Libia,  Ossonoba,  Beja,  and  Mertola.  Nothing  obstructed  his 
victorious  passage  until  he  arrived  under  the  walls  of  the  proud 
Merida. 

The  opposition  which  Muza  encountered  even  in  pitching  his 
tents,  as  well  as  the  formidable  appearance  of  the  works,  convinced 
him  that  the  reduction  of  Merida  must  be  a  work  of  difficulty  and 
time.  Before  closely  investing  it  he  wrote  to  his  son  Abdelasis, 
w^hom  he  ordered  to  assemble  as  many  troops  as  possible  and  to 
join  him  with  them  immediately.  He  soon  found  that  he  had  not 
overrated  the  valor  of  the  inhabitants.  At  length  Abdelasis  arrived 
with  a  reinforcement  of  7,000  horse  and  a  considerable  number  of 
Berbers,  or  Mohammedan  natives  of  Barbary  (the  ancestors  of  the 
modern  Moors),  and  enabled  the  emir  to  press  the  siege  more  vigor- 
ously. The  inhabitants  now  began  to  despond ;  their  numbers  were 
alarmingly  diminished,  their  provisions  exhausted,  and  they  had  no 
hope  of  succor.  They  resolved  to  capitulate.  The  conditions 
which  he  imposed  were  honorable  to  both  parties.  The  inhabitants 
were  at  liberty  either  to  leave  the  city  or  to  remain  in  undisturbed 
security;  to  be  guaranteed  in  their  religion,  their  persons,  and  sub- 
stance.    The  treasures  of  the  churches,  however,  he  claimed,  and 


52  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

713-755 

the  property  of  such  as  had  either  fallen  during  the  siege;  or  fled 
to  some  other  place.  Among  the  hostages  which  were  given  on  this 
occasion  was  Egilona,  the  widow  of  Roderic. 

The  career  of  Arabian  conquest  was  now  more  rapid  than 
ever:  the  Goths  appear  to  have  abandoned  all  intention  of  resist- 
ance. Tarik,  with  amazing  rapidity,  seized  on  Tortosa,  Murviedro, 
Valencia,  Xativa,  and  Denia.  Muza,  in  his  passage  to  the 
Pyrenees,  took  Huesca,  Tarazona,  Lerida,  Calahorra,  Tarragona, 
Barcelona,  Gerona,  and  Ampurias.  From  Ampurias  he  appears  to 
have  directed  his  course  into  Galicia,  and  thence  into  Lusitania. 
indulging  his  ruling  propensity  by  the  acquisition  of  enormous 
wealth.  His  behavior  in  this  respect  was  opposite  to  that  of  the 
equally  valiant  Tarik.  The  latter  general  always  reserved  the  fifth 
part  of  the  booty  for  the  treasury  of  the  caliph ;  the  rest  he  is  said 
to  have  generously  abandoned  to  his  officers  and  soldiers. 

The  inglorious  reigns  of  Theodomir  and  his  successor, — in- 
glorious because  enslaved, — need  not  be  much  noticed ;  indeed,  they 
would  afford  little  to  interest  the  reader.  Whether  the  death  of 
Theodomir  was  natural  or  violent  is  unknown :  we  only  read  that 
in  743  he  was  succeeded  by  Athanagild.  Of  Athanagild  we  hear 
little  more  than  that  he  was  cruelly  oppressed  by  a  viceroy  of  his 
time;  that  on  some  frivolous  pretext  or  other  he  was  fined  in  a 
heavy  sum,  and  that  he  would  have  been  compelled  to  comply  with 
the  rapacious  demand  had  not  the  Mohammedans  themselves,  es- 
pecially the  soldiers,  interfered,  and  forced  the  viceroy  not  only  to 
be  more  just,  but  even  to  indemnify  the  Christian  prince  for  the 
persecution  he  had  endured.  The  kingdom  of  Murcia  ended  about 
the  year  755,  after  the  arrival  of  Abderahman.  The  fate  of  Athan- 
agild is  unknown.  Probably  he  betook  himself,  with  many  thou- 
sands of  his  subjects  and  fellow-Christians,  to  the  Asturian  moun- 
tains, when  the  victories  of  the  new  kingdom  were  borne  on  the 
wings  of  fame,  and  when  the  civil  commotions  of  the  misbelievers 
rendered  it  impossible  for  him  to  expect  security  or  even  life  in  the 
afflicted  province  which  he  had  ruled. 

Before,  however,  we  proceed  to  relate  the  exploits  of  Pelayo 
who  reigned  at  the  same  time,  or  the  rise  and  decline  of  the  Mo- 
hammedan empire  in  Spain,  a  separate  chapter  must  be  devoted  to 
the  political,  civil,  and  religious  condition  of  the  people  subject  to 
the  Gothic  monarchy. 


Chapter  V 

CONDITION  OF  THE  PEOPLE  UNDER  THE  GOTHS 

WHEN  the  northern  barbarians,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century,  commenced  their  destructive  irruptions  into 
the  Peninsula,  the  number  of  provinces  was  five,  ex- 
clusive of  Tingitana  in  Africa,  and  of  the  Balearic  Isles, — Tarra- 
gona, Carthagena,  Galicia,  Lusitania,  and  Baetica.  To  these  was 
soon  added  Narbonensian  Gaul,  called  also  Septimania,  which,  from 
its  occupation  by  the  Goths,  was  in  the  sequel  denominated  Land- 
gothia,  and  at  length  Languedoc.  The  Balearic  Isles,  in  466,  were 
seized  by  the  Vandals,  in  whose  possession  they  remained  until 
Belisarius  reduced  them  to  the  sway  of  Justinian.  Tingitana  also 
submitted  to  that  renowned  general ;  but  in  the  seventh  century  we 
again  find  that  province  an  appendage  of  the  Visigothic  crown. 
The  period  of  its  reconquest  is  unknown ;  but  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  it  was  in  the  reign  of  Swintila,  who  had  the  glory  of 
forever  ending  the  Greek  domination  in  the  Peninsula.  Hence  the 
number  of  provinces  was  still  seven.  At  one  time,  indeed,  there 
were  eight.  Carpetania  was  divided  into  two :  Contestania,  of 
which  the  capital  was  the  city  of  Carthagena,  held  by  the  imperial- 
ists ;  and  Carpetania,  which,  with  its  capital  Toledo,  belonged  to  the 
Goths.  From  Swintila  to  the  invasion  of  the  Moors  the  two 
provinces  were  reunited,  and  Toledo,  the  royal  residence,  acknowl- 
edged not  only  as  the  capital  of  the  whole  province,  but  as  the 
metropolis  of  the  kingdom. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  the  metropolitan 
honor  was  enjoyed  by  Seville  long  before  Toledo,  apparently  from 
the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great.  Amalaric  was  the  first 
Visigothic  king  who  established  his  court  in  Spain,  and  he 
naturally  selected  the  former  city  as  the  seat  of  his  government. 
Athanagild  translated  it  to  Toledo.  The  Suevi  had  also  their  cap- 
ital, Braga  in  Galicia.  Each  of  the  seven  provinces  enumerated  had 
the  same  local  capital  as  during  the  dominion  of  the  Romans.  In 
fact,  the  geography  of  the  whole  country  underwent  little  change, 

33 


54  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

either  in  its  divisions  or  its  nomenclature,  until  some  time  after 
the  descent  of  the  Mohammedans. 

The  government  of  the  Visigoths  was,  in  appearance,  an  abso- 
lute monarchy;  yet  the  power  of  the  chief  was  so  restrained  in  its 
exercise  by  the  controlling  influence  of  the  prelates  that  it  might, 
with  equal  propriety,  be  termed  a  theocracy.  In  the  infancy  of 
their  office  the  Gothic  kings  were  no  less  controlled  by  their  nobles ; 
they  were,  in  fact,  but  prinii  inter  pares;  they  had  no  royal  descent, 
no  hereditary  honors,  nor,  indeed,  much  transmitted  wealth,  with 
which  to  captivate  or  influence  their  rude  companions.  Every 
fierce  chieftain  considered  himself  as  good  as  his  king,  and  might 
become  one  himself.  As  the  dignity  was  originally  military,  and 
conferred  on  superior  address  and  valor,  so  the  same  qualities  might 
assuredly  lead  to  the  same  success :  the  electors  were,  indeed,  too 
barbarous  to  form  any  notion  of  other  qualifications;  the  sword 
had  opened  them  a  way,  from  the  very  bosom  of  the  north,  to  their 
fertile  abodes  of  the  south,  and  by  it  only  could  their  dominion  be 
preserved. 

Soon  after  the  establishment  of  the  Visigothic  monarchy  at 
Toledo  the  power  of  the  crown  seems  to  have  been  bounded  by  two 
restrictions  only:  First,  the  king  could  not  condemn  without  legal 
trial,  without  being  guided  by  the  provisions  of  the  national  code ; 
but  he  had  power  to  soften  the  rigor  of  severe  justice ;  he  could  pass 
a  more  favorable  sentence  on,  or  entirely  absolve,  the  delinquents 
brought  before  his  tribunals.  The  second  restriction  related  to 
the  decrees  of  the  king,  which  were  received  as  binding  during  his 
life;  but  which  had  no  force  in  perpetuity,  unless  sanctioned  at  the 
same  time  by  the  signatures  of  the  bishops  and  barons  in  council 
assembled.  In  other  respects  he  was  unshackled.  He  could  make 
war  or  peace  at  pleasure;  he  could  issue  proclamations  which  had 
the  force  of  law,  subject  to  the  restriction  just  mentioned ;  he  com- 
manded in  the  field   and  presided  in  the  court  of  justice. 

In  their  social  state,  as  exhibited  in  the  Latin  original  of  the 
Visigothic  code,  we  cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  national  pride 
of  the  Goths :  they  alone  were  styled  nobilcs.  while  the  rest  of  the 
community  were  viliores.  Under  the  latter  humiliating  term  were 
included  not  merely  sci'zn  and  Uherti,  or  slaves  and  freedmen,  but 
even  the  ingenui,  or  free-bom,  whatever  might  be  their  wealth  or 
consideration ;  and  to  preserve  the  privileged  caste  uncontaminated. 
marriages  were  rigorously  forbidden  between  the  victors  and  the 


CONDITION     UNDER     GOTHS  55 

vanquished,  until  Recesvvind  abolished  the  prohibition.  Again,  the 
slave  is  forbidden  to  ally  himself  with  a  free  family;  and  if  even  the 
freedman,  however  rich  or  respected,  should  aspire  to  the  honor  of 
an  alliance  with  any  female  by  whom  he  has  been  enfranchised,  he 
must  return  to  his  former  state  of  slavery.  Not  only  was  the  slave 
who  presumed  to  marry  a  free  woman  put  to  death,  but  the  free 
woman  who  either  married  or  sinned  with  a  slave  was  burned  at 
the  stake  with  him.  Again,  the  relative  importance  of  the  three 
classes,  nobles,  freedmen,  and  slaves,  was  carefully  graduated  by 
the  laws.  For  the  same  crime  a  greater  punishment  was  awarded 
to  the  second  than  the  first,  and  to  the  third  than  the  second.  It 
must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  society  in  the  Peninsula  con- 
sisted only  of  the  three  classes  just  named;  if  these  constituted  the 
great  bulk  of  the  population,  and  were  separated  from  each  other 
by  barriers  almost  impassable,  there  were  others  necessarily  genera- 
ted by  the  state  of  that  society  whose  lines  of  demarkation  were  less 
strongly  drawn.  For  the  most  part  these  classes  were  the  same  with 
those  of  ancient  Rome.  There  were  nobles  and  plebeians,  masters 
and  slaves,  patrons  and  freedmen :  the  nobles  were  divided  into 
primates  and  seniores,  corresponding  with  the  ancient  scnatores  and 
eqiiitcs,  and  with  the  modern  grandees  and  caballeros.  Of  slaves 
there  were  also  various  kinds,  such  as  the  idonei  or  honi,  who  appear 
not  to  have  been  much  below  our  own  domestic  servants,  except 
that  their  servitude  in  their  master's  house  was  perpetual;  and  the 
viles,  a  term  sufiiciently  indicative  of  their  humilating  condition. 

If  from  the  civil  we  pass  to  the  military  state  of  the  country, 
we  shall  find  that  the  Goths  were  one  vast  nation  of  soldiers,  the 
words  soldier  and  man  being  considered  almost  as  synonymous. 
The  obligation  of  service  was  imperative  on  all  freemen ;  nor  were 
the  sons  of  the  king  admitted  to  his  table  until  they  had  made  their 
essay  in  arms.  Slaves  were  also  admitted  to  join  the  levies,  since 
every  owner  was  required  to  take  with  him  to  the  field  one-tenth  of 
the  number  he  possessed.  All  Goths  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
whether  lay  or  clerical,  were  subject  to  military  duty;  and  heavy 
were  the  penalties  with  which  he  was  visited  who  absented  or  hid 
himself  to  escape  the  conscription;  if  he  were  a  noble  filling  some 
high  employment,  he  was  deposed  and  banished;  if  a  common  noble, 
he  was  beaten  and  branded ;  the  officer  who  for  a  bribe  excused  any 
one  from  the  service  was  compelled  to  pay  four  times  the  amount 
of  the  money  he  had  received,  besides  a  heavy  fine  to  tlie  king. 


56  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

The  captain  who  forsook  his  post  in  time  of  war  was  beheaded; 
or,  if  he  took  sanctuary  in  a  church,  he  was  fined  in  six  hundred 
crowns,  to  be  divided  among-  the  soldiers  of  his  company. 

But  in  the  present  chapter  the  most  extensive  and  by  far  the 
most  interesting  place  must  be  assigned  to  the  church  of  Spain. 

The  hierarchy  of  the  Spanish  church  under  the  Goths  differs 
in  one  or  two  important  respects  from  that  of  the  first  four  cen- 
turies. The  pope  was  acknowledged  as  supreme  head  of  the  church ; 
and  metropolitan  sees  were  formed  which  exercised  an  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  over  the  suffragan  bishops.  The  papal  authority  seems 
to  have  been  exercised  in  four  ways:  ist,  in  remitting  the  pall 
(pallium)  to  such  metropolitans  as  he  considered  fit  for  the  honor; 
2d,  in  deciding  on  appeals  from  the  ecclesiastical  courts ;  3d,  in  send- 
ing pontifical  judges  into  Spain  to  decide  for  him,  where  the  nature 
of  the  disputes  which  arose  could  be  best  ascertained  by  an  eye- 
witness; 4th,  in  nominating  legates  to  watch  over  the  discipline  of 
the  national  church.  The  cases,  however,  in  which  these  preroga- 
tives were  exercised  were  extremely  rare,  probably  through  regard 
for  the  ancient  independence  of  the  Spanish  bishops,  who,  during  the 
first  four  centuries,  were  vehemently  opposed  to  any  appeal  which 
involved  the  supremacy  of  the  pope,  and  who,  even  when  induced  to 
acknowledge  that  supremacy,  would  not  permit  dispensations  to 
be  procured  from  Rome.  So  far  were  the  Gothic  prelates  from 
acknowledging  the  infallibility  of  the  pontiff  that  they  more  than 
once  disputed  his  authority  in  points  of  faith. 

In  the  ancient  Spanish  church  the  bishops  were  equal  in 
dignity,  and  the  most  aged  presided  in  the  national  councils.  But 
during  the  domination  of  the  Goths,  metropolitans,  possessing  the 
jurisdiction  though  not  the  title  of  archbishops,  occur.  This  novelty 
seems  to  have  arisen  from  the  practice  of  the  popes  addressing  in 
their  letters  the  prelates  who  held  the  capital  sees  of  each  province 
as  metropolitans  of  that  province.  Towards  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century  we  find  one  for  every  province,  in  conformity  with  the 
long-established  usage  of  the  universal  church.  The  duties  of  this 
new  dignitary  were:  ist,  to  convoke  provincial  councils;  2d,  to 
consecrate  the  suffragan  bishops ;  3d,  to  appoint  some  one  suffragan 
to  act  in  case  of  his  absence;  4th,  to  hold  a  court  for  the  decision 
in  the  first  instance  of  disputes  relating  to  ecclesiastical  persons  or 
affairs ;  5th,  to  watch  over  the  conduct  of  bishops  and  rectors  of 
parishes. 


CONDITION     UNDER     GOTHS  57 

Matrimony,  the  last  of  the  sacraments  mentioned  in  the  Visi- 
gothic  canons,  was  considered  of  unrivaled  importance  among  a 
people  so  tenacious  of  their  privileges  and  so  jealous  of  the  purity 
of  their  blood.  As  before  observed,  marriages  between  the  victors 
and  the  vanquished  were  rigorously  prohibited,  until  Receswind 
repealed  the  obnoxious  law.  The  damsel  could  not  give  her  hand 
to  anyone  unless  he  were  not  merely  approved,  but  selected  for  her, 
by  her  parents;  or  if  an  orphan,  by  her  natural  guardians;  and 
if  she  married  contrary  to  their  wishes,  she  not  only  forfeited  all 
right  to  her  share  of  her  future  property,  but  both  she  and  her 
husband  became  slaves, — the  slaves  of  the  man  for  whom  her  rela- 
tives had  intended  her. 

The  laws  concerning  marriage,  etc.,  may  not  improperly  be 
added  to  this  list  of  the  Visigothic  sacraments.  Unlike  the  custom 
of  modern  times,  the  dowry  was  given  by  the  bridegroom,  not  by 
the  guardians  of  the  bride,  and  was  carefully  preserved  by  them.  It 
could  not  exceed  one-tenth  part  of  his  substance ;  but  at  the  expira- 
tion of  a  year  from  the  marriage  either  party  was  at  liberty  to 
make  any  present,  however  valuable,  to  the  other.  Of  this  tenth 
the  wife  could  claim  no  more  than  one-fourth ;  the  rest  was  for  the 
children,  and,  if  none,  it  returned  to  her  husband's  house.  The 
impediments  to  matrimony  were  numerous.  i.  The  male  was  al- 
ways to  have  the  advantage  of  years  over  the  female.  2.  He  or 
she  who  had  been  betrothed  to  anyone  could  not  marry  another 
before  the  expiration  of  two  years;  if  this  prohibition  was  disre- 
garded, slavery  was  the  doom  of  both.  3.  He  who  forced  a 
woman  could  not  marry  her.  4.  If  a  Christian  married  a  Hebrew, 
both  were  banished  to  different  places.  5.  The  monastic  orders, 
public  or  devotional  penitents,  virgins  veiled  and  vowed,  were 
naturally  excluded  from  this  sacrament;  so  also  were  kindred  to 
the  sixth  degree.  A  married  couple  could  at  any  time  separate  by 
mutual  agreement;  but  they  could  not  return  to  each  other,  much 
less  remarry.  It  was  only  in  case  of  adultery,  or  when  the  hus- 
band committed  the  most  abominable  of  sins,  or  when  he  wished 
his  wife  to  commit  adultery,  that  the  ziiiculion  luatriinonii  was 
declared  forever  dissolved,  and  she  was  at  liberty  to  marry  another 
man.  Adultery  was  reputed  so  enormous  a  crime  among  the 
Visigoths  that  the  person  who  committed  it  became  the  slave  of 
the  injured  partner. 

Under  the  Gotlis,  Spain  was  no  more  exempt  from  heresies 


58  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

than  she  had  been  under  the  Romans.  The  first  is  that  of 
Nestoriiis,  respecting  the  mysterious  union  of  the  divine  and  human 
natures  in  Christ;  but  it  was  speedily  repressed.  The  Manicheans 
and  PriscilHanists  were  not  more  successful ;  both  Arians  and  Cath- 
olics united  in  banishing  them ;  extirpation  was  reserved  for  later 
times.  After  the  accession  of  Recared,  when  the  Catholic  religion 
became  the  only  one  in  Spain,  severe  penalties  w^ere  decreed  against 
all  who  presumed  to  differ  from  the  establishd  faith. 

Under  the  Roman  domination  no  monasteries  were  known  in 
Spain;  but  widows  and  virgins,  even  in  their  father's  house,  could 
consecrate  themselves  to  God  by  vows  of  chastity,  of  abstaining 
from  pleasure,  and  living  retired  from  the  bustle  of  the  world. 
Under  the  Goths  the  same  custom  existed,  but  not  to  the  same 
extent,  as  religious  houses  were  established  for  the  reception  of 
such  of  either  sex  as  resolved  to  escape  from  the  temptations  of 
life.  Before  the  establishment  of  monasteries  men  who  aspired  to 
superior  sanctity  fled  to  the  solitudes  or  deserts  of  the  kingdom, 
where  they  alternately  cultivated  the  ground,  pored  over  books  of 
devotion,  and  meditated  on  the  example  of  preceding  hermits. 
Their  number  was  considerable  until  the  beginning  of  the  sixth 
century,  when  monasteries  were  first  opened  in  Spain.  The  famous 
rule  of  St.  Benedict  is  beyond  doubt  the  most  ancient  ever  used  in 
Spain,  but  the  precise  period  of  its  introduction  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained :  we  know  that  it  was  in  full  vigor  early  in  the  seventh 
century. 

Such  religious  houses  in  the  early  stage  were  distinguished 
alike  for  useful  industry,  for  learning,  for  piety,  and  the  exercise 
of  the  social  virtues.  And  even  at  a  later  period, — when  the 
monks  from  laymen  w^ere  transformed  into  clergy,  when  allowed 
by  their  diocesans  to  build  churches,  to  confess  and  preach,  and 
consequently  when  unable  to  occupy  themselves  much  in  the  culti- 
vation of  the  ground, — it  may  be  doubted  whether  they  did  not 
amply  return  to  society  the  benefits  they  received  from  it.  If  they 
no  longer  lived  by  the  labor  of  their  hands,  but  on  the  endowments 
of  the  rich,  they  were  active  clergymen  in  their  own  immediate 
neighborhoods;  they  exercised  hospitality  without  grudging;  they 
fed  the  poor ;  they  clothed  the  naked ;  they  instructed  the  ignorant ; 
they  kept  alive  the  lamp  of  knowledge,  the  rays  of  which,  by  their 
scholastic  establishments  (and  they  were  the  most  usual  instructors 
of  youtli),  they  distributed  over  a  whole  kingdom. 


CONDITION     UNDER     GOTHS  59 

Under  the  Arian  kings  of  the  Stievi  and  the  Visigoths  (and 
this  heresy  continued  ninety-six  years  in  Galicia  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  in  the  rest  of  Spain),  the  Cathohc  faith  can  boast  of 
few  martyrs,  but  of  numerous  confessors.  The  latter  were  chiefly 
prelates  who,  on  refusing  to  embrace  the  Arian  doctrines,  were  dis- 
possessed of  their  sees,  driven  into  exile,  or  made  to  endure  the 
greatest  persecutions.  Of  the  former  none  are  sufficiently  striking  to 
deserve  a  place  here.  But  the  saints,  who,  whether  confessors  or  al- 
lowed to  pass  their  days  in  tranquillity,  must  not  l>e  wholly  passed 
over  in  silence.  Of  these,  one  of  the  most  famous  was  St.  Aemi- 
lianus,  or,  as  he  is  commonly  named,  St.  Millan,  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  Leovigild,  and  whose  actions  and  miracles  were  written  by 
St.  Braulio,  bishop  of  Saragossa,  in  the  following  century. 

Of  theologians  there  are  a  much  greater  number,  but  their 
works  either  slumber  in  the  dust  of  libraries — never,  let  us  hope, 
to  be  disturbed ! — or  have  perished.  Out  of  the  fifteen  pompously 
enumerated  by  IMasdeu,  not  more  than  two  or  three  appear  worthy 
of  notice.  St.  Leander.  the  elder  brother  of  St.  Isidore,  must 
occupy  the  first  place.  This  extraordinary  man — extraordinary 
rather  for  his  actions  than  for  his  talents — soon  arrived  at  the 
bishopric  of  Seville.  Equally  ambitious  and  stern,  he  led  the  van 
of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  opposition  to  the  established  faith  of  the 
Arians. 

But  if  the  Goths,  the  Suevi,  and  the  Vandals  were  no  great 
admirers  of  civilization,  if  they  held  learning  and  the  elegant  arts 
of  life  in  open  contempt,  they  had  many  good  qualities ;  they  were 
devout,  temperate,  frugal,  honest,  sincere,  and  open-liearted.  If 
any  faith  is  to  be  had  in  the  invectives  of  the  priest  of  Marseilles, 
St.  Salvianus,  who  lived  at  the  time  of  the  barbaric  invasion,  these 
Northern  strangers  by  their  virtues  put  to  shame  the  conduct  of  the 
natives.  Though  this  is  doubtless  declamation.  v,-e  may  readily 
believe  that  tlie  Spanish  character  had  been  deplorably  lowered  by 
the  corruptions  of  the  Roman  world,  and  that  tin's  corruption  would 
be  more  manifest  when  contrasted  with  the  austere  virtues  of  the 
X'orthmcn.  The  latter  preserved  their  moral  superiority  so  long 
as  they  lived  isolated  from  the  natives — so  long'  as  a  difi^erence  of 
religion  and  the  prohibition  against  intermarriages  separated  them 
from  the  subjugated  people.  But  wlien  first  Recared.  next  Reces- 
wind.  and  still  more  the  altered  circimistances  of  the  two  nations, 
threw   doAvn    the   harriers   which    had    separated    them,    the   Goths 


60  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

began  to  acquire  some  of  the  vices  of  their  Spanish  brethren;  their 
character  rapidly  dechned  from  its  original  integrity;  they  became 
luxurious,  effeminate,  averse  to  the  fatigues  no  less  than  the  dangers 
of  war,  and  consequently  insensible  of  honor.  That  the  depravity 
of  manners  under  three  or  four  monarchs  immediately  preced- 
ing the  Mohammedan  invasion  was  very  great,  notwithstanding  the 
severity  of  laws  and  canons,  is  indisputable  from  the  chroniclers 
of  the  times,  who  represent  the  destruction  of  the  monarchy  as  the 
work  of  offended  Heaven. 


PART    III 

THE  PENINSULA  UNDER  THE  ARABS  AND 
THE  MOORS.     711-1492 


Chapter    VI 

DOMINION   OF  THE   ARABS.     711-1031 

TARIK  and  Muza,  whose  exploits  have  been  already  related, 
are  usually  ranked  among  the  Mohammedan  viceroys  of 
Spain.  The  authority  of  the  former  naturally  expired 
on  the  arrival  of  his  superior ;  and  when  Muza  at  length  obeyed 
the  imperial  summons  to  Damascus,  Abdelasis,  his  son,  became  the 
lieutenant  of  the  vicar  of  the  prophet  of  God.  The  assassination  of 
that  prince  in  the  mosque  of  Seville  left  the  new  conquests  without 
a  governor. 

Dispatching  Habib  to  the  court  of  Damascus  with  the  head 
of  the  unfortunate  emir,  the  Arab  sheiks  assembled  to  invest  one 
of  their  body  with  that  high  dignity.  The  virtues  and  wisdom 
of  Ayub  ben  Habib,  the  nephew  of  Muza,  commanded  their  unani- 
mous suffrages.  Nor  did  he  prove  unworthy  of  their  choice.  His 
justice,  his  mildness,  his  anxiety  to  receive  and  redress  complaints, 
were  gratefully  witnessed  by  Mohammedans  and  Christians,  espe- 
cially by  those  of  Toledo  and  Saragossa ;  and  the  erection  of  the 
fortress  of  Calat  Ayub,^  near  the  site  of  the  ancient  Bibyllis,  has 
also  given  perpetuity  to  his  name.  But  Omar  II.,  the  successor  of 
Suleyman,  disdaining  to  recognize  a  governor  not  appointed  by 
the  sovereign  authority  of  the  caliph,  and  bearing,  perhaps,  much 
of  his  predecessor's  ill  will  to  the  family  of  Muza,  deposed  Ayub, 
and  nominated  Alhaur  ben  Abderahman  to  the  viceregal  dignity. 
The  new  governor,  by  his  severity,  or  by  his  rigorous,  unsparing 
justice,  caused  the  people  to  regret  the  mild  firmness  of  his  prede- 
cessor. Not  even  the  rich  boot}'-  which  he  collected  during  an  irrup- 
tion into  Gothic  Gaul  could,  it  is  said,  satisfy  his  rapacity,  and  he 
extorted  heavy  sums  from  the  people. 

In  721  A.D.  Abderahman  ben  Abdalla  was  invested  with  the 
government  of  Spain,  and  the  election  was  confirmed  by  the  emir 

1  Now  Calatayud,  a  spirited  little  town  of  Aragon.     Calat,  a  fortress,  Ayub, 
of  Ayub. 


64  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

721-732 

of  Africa.  This  celebrated  emir  commenced  his  second  adminis- 
tration by  punishing  such  local  governors  as  had  been  guilty  of  in- 
justice; by  restoring  to  the  Christians  the  property  of  which  they  had 
been  deprived  by  Alhaitam, — thereby  perfecting  the  work  of  the 
caliph's  envoy,  and  by  distributing  justice  so  impartially  that  the 
professors  of  neither  faith  could  find  reason  to  complain.  But  these 
cares,  so  honorable  to  his  understanding  and  heart  and  in  their 
effects  so  useful  to  his  people,  could  not  long  divert  him  from  the 
great  design  he  had  formed, — that  of  invading  the  whole  of  Gaul. 

Just  before  the  Mussulman  army  commenced  its  march, 
Othman,  who  still  continued  at  his  station  in  Gothic  Gaul,  very 
near  to  the  Pyrenees,  received  orders  to  lay  waste  the  province  of 
Aquitaine.  But  Othman,  or  Manuza,  was  in  no  disposition  to 
execute  the  order :  he  had  seen  with  envy  Abderahman  preferred 
to  himself,  and  his  marriage  with  one  of  the  daughters  of  Eudes, 
duke  of  Aquitaine,  whom  he  passionately  loved,  rendered  him  more 
eager  to  cultivate  the  friendship  than  to  incur  the  hostility  of  the 
Franks. 

Abderahman  now  commenced  his  momentous  march  (732  a.d.) 
in  the  hopes  of  carrying  the  banner  of  the  prophet  to  the  very  shores 
of  the  Baltic.  His  progress  spread  dismay  throughout  Europe ;  and 
well  it  might,  for  so  formidable  and  destructive  an  armament  Europe 
had  not  seen  since  the  days  of  Attila.  Conflagrations,  ruins,  the 
shrieks  of  violated  chastity,  and  the  groans  of  the  dying  rendered 
this  memorable  invasion  more  like  the  work  of  a  demon  than  of  a 
man.  The  flourishing  towns  of  southern  and  central  France,  from 
Gascony  to  Burgundy  and  from  the  Garonne  to  the  Loire,  were 
soon  transformed  into  smoking  heaps.  Li  vain  did  Eudes  strive 
to  arrest  the  overpowering  torrent  by  disputing  the  passage  of  the 
Dordogne ;  his  army  was  swept  before  it  and  he  himself  was  com- 
pelled to  become  a  suppliant  to  Charles,  the  mayor  of  the  Franks. 
That  celebrated  hero,  whose  actions,  administration,  and  numerous 
victories  commanded  the  just  admiration  of  the  times,  was  no  less 
anxious  to  become  the  savior  of  Christendom ;  but  he  knew  too 
well  the  magnitude  of  the  danger  to  meet  it  by  premature  efforts, 
and  he  silently  collected  in  Belgium  and  in  Germany  the  elements 
of  resistance  to  the  dreaded  inundation.  When  his  measures  were 
taken,  he  boldly  advanced  at  the  head  of  his  combined  Franks, 
Belgians,  Germans,  etc.,  towards  the  enemy,  Avho  had  just  reduced 
Tours   and  who  was  soon  drawn  up  to  receive  him  in  the  extended 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  65 

733-736 

plain  between  that  city  and  Poitiers.  Neither  captain  was  at  first 
very  wilHng  to  commence  the  combat:  the  Christian  through  a 
consciousness  of  his  alarming  inferiority  in  numbers,  the  Mussul- 
man through  an  apprehension  that  his  followers  would  be  more 
intent  on  preserving  their  plunder  than  their  reputation.  But 
both  felt  that  it  was  inevitable,  and  after  six  days'  skirmishing 
both  advanced  to  the  shock.  The  contest  was  long  and  bloody; 
the  utmost  valor  was  displayed  by  the  two  armies  and  the  utmost 
ability  by  the  two  captains ;  but  in  the  end  the  impenetrable  ranks, 
robust  frames,  and  iron  hands  of  the  Germans  turned  the  fortune 
of  the  day:  when  darkness  arrived,  an  immense  number  of  Saracen 
bodies,  among  which  was  that  of  Abderahman  himself,  covered  the 
plain.  This  far-famed  victory,  which  was  obtained  in  the  year 
733,  spread  consternation  throughout  the  Mohammedan  world. 
Fortunately  for  Christendom,  the  domestic  quarrels  of  the  Mussul- 
mans themselves,  the  fierce  struggles  of  their  chiefs  for  the  seat 
of  the  prophet,  prevented  them  from  universally  arming  to  vindi- 
cate their  faith  and  their  martial  reputation.  This  glorious  event 
must  be  no  less  interesting  to  the  lover  of  romance  than  the  reader 
of  history.  The  twelve  peers  of  France  and  Britain,  the  renowned 
names  of  chivalry,  the  splendid  creations  of  the  Italian  muse,  owe 
their  origin  to  this  almost  miraculous  success  of  the  Christians. 

Abdelmelic  ben  Cotan  was  nominated  by  the  African  emir  to 
succeed  Abderahman,  and  was  soon  afterwards  commanded  by  the 
caliph  to  revenge  the  late  disasters  of  the  Mohammedan  arms ;  but 
such  orders  were  more  easily  given  than  executed.  The  emir, 
indeed,  passed  the  Pyrenees,  but  a  complete  panic  seemed  to  have 
seized  on  his  followers,  who  soon  retreated,  but  were  pursued  and 
destroyed  in  the  defiles  of  those  mountains.  He  was  superseded 
by  Ocba  ben  Albegag,  an  officer  who  had  acquired  considerable 
celebrity  in  suppressing  the  revolts  of  the  Mauritanians. 

Scarcely  had  Ocba  landed  in  Spain  than  the  restless  bar- 
barians of  ]\Iauritania  again  revolted,  defeated  and  slew  their  gov- 
ernor, who  hastened  to  subdue  them,  and  triumphed  over  a  new 
emir,  at  the  liead  of  a  powerful  reinforcement  from  Egypt.  Of 
this  reinforcement  the  Syrians,  under  Thalaba  ben  Salema,  and 
the  Egyptians,  under  Baleg  ben  Bakir,  were  expelled  from  the  coun- 
try and  induced  to  seek  refuge  in  Spain.  Their  arrival  boded  no 
good  to  the  tranquillity  of  the  Peninsula.  In  vain  did  Abdelmelic 
desire  them  not  to  advance  farther  than  Andalusia,  but  disregard- 


66  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

736 

ing  this  they  marched  on  Toledo  and  Cordova,  which  they  hoped  to 
seize  before  the  emir,  who  was  then  at  Saragossa,  could  oppose 
them.  By  forced  marches,  however,  Abdelmelic  reached  Toledo 
in  time  to  save  it ;  the  assailants  instantly  raised  the  siege,  and  were 
pursued  by  his  son,  who  cut  off  a  considerable  number  in  the  retreat. 
Cordova  also  held  out  through  the  heroic  resistance  of  Abderah- 
man,  son  of  the  virtuous  Ocba,  who  appears  to  have  inherited  the 
noble  qualities  of  his  sire. 

But  here  the  emir  found  the  term  of  his  success.  The  young 
Abderahman,  listening  only  to  his  bravery,  issued  from  the  gates 
of  Cordova  and  after  an  obstinate  struggle  was  defeated  by  Baleg. 
Abdelmelic  now  tried  negotiation  in  vain ;  the  Africans  invested 
him  in  his  last  hold,  and  the  inhabitants,  hoping  to  obtain  favor  by 
his  destruction,  tied  him  to  a  post  on  the  bridge  of  Cordova,  and 
opened  their  gates  to  Baleg.  The  unfortunate  emir  was  speedily 
beheaded,  and  the  inhuman  victor  tumultuously  proclaimed  the 
governor  of  the  faithful. 

Baleg  did  not  long  enjoy  his  usurped  honors.  Thalaba  loudly 
asserted  that  the  elevation  of  Baleg  was  illegal,  since  to  the  caliph 
alone  belonged  the  right  of  nomination,  and  with  his  Syrians  he 
retired  towards  Merida,  At  the  same  time  the  son  of  Ocba 
rallied  the  dispersed  troops  of  the  murdered  Abdelmelic  and  marched 
against  the  usurper,  thus  critically  weakened  by  the  defection  of 
Thalaba.  The  two  armies  met  on  the  plains  of  Calatrava,  midway 
between  Cordova  and  Toledo.  In  the  heat  of  the  action  the  furious 
Baleg  performed  prodigies  of  valor.  In  the  end  justice  triumphed ; 
Baleg  fell,  pierced  by  the  scimitar  of  Abderahman ;  the  tyrant's 
forces  fled,  and  the  victor  was  hailed  by  the  honorable  surname  of 
Almansor.  But  this  event  did  not  bestow  tranquillity  to  Spain. 
Thalaba,  no  less  ferocious  than  his  rival,  still  remained,  and  was 
closely  investing  Merida.  Being  joined  by  the  remnant  of  Baleg's 
troops,  he  soon  forced  the  inhabitants  to  capitulate.  Hence  he 
returned  to  Cordova,  where,  in  order  to  celebrate  his  success,  he 
commanded  the  massacre  of  a  thousand  prisoners.  But  his  thirst 
for  blood  was  not  to  be  gratified  on  this  occasion.  The  approach 
of  Husam  ben  Dhizar,  surnamed  Abulchatur,  whom  the  caliph  had 
sent  to  govern  and  tranquillize  Spain,  saved  the  destined  victims, 
and  Thalaba  from  his  viceregal  throne  was  removed  to  a  dungeon 
in  the  fortress  of  Tangier. 

Above  forty  years  had  now  elapsed  since  the  first  descent  of 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  67 

755 

the  Alohammeclans,  and  in  the  whole  of  that  period  there  had  been 
but  few  intervals  of  tranquillity,  or  even  of  individual  security.  So 
mutable  had  been  the  government  that  twenty  different  emirs  had 
been  called,  or  had  raised  themselves,  to  direct  it.  Jealousy,  hatred, 
distrust  of  one  another,  open  revolt,  successful  rebellions,  forced 
submission,  and  a  longing  for  revenge,  with  regard  to  the  viceroys, 
had  perpetually  signalized  the  administration  of  the  Arabs.  The 
caliphs  were  too  remote  and  too  much  occupied  with  nearer  interests 
to  apply  a  reasonable  remedy  to  those  evils ;  the  governors  of  Alma- 
greb  had  lost  their  delegated  jurisdiction;  yet,  at  this  very  time, 
when  no  sheik  or  wali  would  recognize  a  superior — when  the 
Mohammedan  society  of  the  Peninsula  was  thus  fearfully  disor- 
ganized— the  Christians  of  the  Asturias  were  consolidating  their 
infant  power,  and  were  naturally  alive  to  every  advantage  that 
could  be  gained  over  the  odious  strangers.  The  sober-judging 
chiefs  of  the  latter  saw  the  danger  of  their  situation,  and  resolved, 
if  possible,  to  avert  it.  About  eighty  of  them  secretly  assembled  at 
Cordova,  when,  laying  aside  all  private  ambition,  they  consulted 
as  to  the  means  of  ending  the  civil  war.  They  decided  to  establish 
a  monarchy  and  offer  the  crown  to  Abderahman. 

The  prince  immediately  accepted  the  proposal.  "  Noble  depu- 
ties," said  he,  "  I  will  unite  my  destiny  with  yours ;  I  will  go  and 
fight  with  you.  I  fear  neither  adversity  nor  the  dangers  of  war; 
if  I  am  young,  misfortune,  I  hope,  has  proved  me,  and  never  yet 
found  me  wanting."  The  youth  of  the  whole  tribe  were  eager  to 
accompany  him,  but  he  selected  seven  hundred  and  fifty  well-armed 
horsemen  for  this  arduous  expedition. 

Abderahman  landed  on  the  coast  of  Andalusia  in  the  early  part 
of  the  year  755.  The  inhabitants  of  that  province,  sheiks  and 
people,  received  him  with  open  arms  and  made  tlie  air  ring  with 
their  acclamations.  TTis  appearance,  his  station,  his  majestic  mien, 
his  open  countenance,  won  upon  tlie  multitude  even  more  perhaps 
than  the  prospect  of  the  blessings  which  he  v.'as  believed  to  have 
in  store  for  them.  His  march  to  Seville  was  one  continued  tri- 
umpli.  Twenty  thousand  voices  cheered  his  progress:  twenty 
thousand  scimiters,  wielded  by  vigorous  hands,  were  at  his  dis- 
posal. The  surrounding  towns  immediately  sent  deputies  with 
tlieir  submission  and  the  offer  of  their  services.  Yussuf,  the  chief 
emir,  was  in  consternation  at  this  desertion  of  the  people;  and  he 
was  nn  less  indi^'nant  that  the  sheiks,  his  former  creatures,  slunild 


68  SPAIN     xVND     T  O  11  T  U  G  A  L 

755 

SO  readily  surrender  their  fortresses  to  the  stranger.  He  was,  how- 
ever, far  from  intimidated.  One  of  his  sons  he  intrusted  with  the 
defense  of  Cordova;  another  he  placed  over  Valencia;  a  third  he 
sent  into  ]\Iurcia,  to  maintain  the  Christian  subjects  of  Athanagild 
in  obedience ;  while  he  himself,  with  his  friend  Samail,  flew  from 
province  to  province  to  raise  troops.  The  son  of  Yussuf  attempted 
to  impede  the  march  of  Abderahman  on  the  capital ;  but  he  was 
defeated,  and  compelled  precipitately  to  re-enter  the  city,  which  the 
conqueror  invested.  Hearing  that  Samail  was  advancing  with 
40,000  men  to  the  relief  of  Cordova,  the  king  left  one-half  of  his 
army  to  prosecute  the  siege;  while  with  the  other  half,  consisting 
of  no  more  than  10,000  horse,  he  advanced  against  the  enemy,  now 
joined  by  Yussuf,  The  disproportion  of  numbers  in  no  way 
alarmed  him,  and  on  the  day  of  battle  he  did  not  fail  to  raise  the 
spirits  of  his  followers  by  bold  assurances,  and  promised  them,  be- 
fore nightfall,  a  glorious  victory  over  the  army  of  Yussuf.  That 
emir,  from  his  superiority  in  force,  was  no  less  confident  of  success. 
Though  he  and  Samail  fought  with  intrepidity,  they  had  to  oppose 
one  more  intrepid  than  themselves, — one  who  rushed  wherever  the 
danger  was  greatest,  and  who  at  length  forced  both  to  seek  safety 
in  flight,  the  former  in  the  west,  the  other  in  Murcia.  Cordova 
capitulated  with  the  victor :  a  great  number  of  other  cities  volun- 
tarily surrendered.  But  two  victories  had  not  decided  the  fate 
of  this  martial  country.  Yussuf  cjuickly  repaired  his  losses,  and 
with  another  army  appeared  on  the  field,  though  with  diminished 
hopes.  After  some  maneuvering  the  two  enemies  again  encoun- 
tered each  other  near  Almunecar.  Yussuf  and  Samail  fought  for 
life,  Abderahman  for  empire.  The  emir  sustained  a  third  defeat, 
more  fatal  than  either  of  the  two  preceding:  he  and  Samail  were 
pursued  to  the  rugged  rocks  that  skirt  the  boundary  of  Elvira. 
Perceiving  that  longer  resistance  would  be  useless,  the  latter  in- 
duced the  emir,  with  much  difficulty,  to  allow  negotiations  for 
peace.  The  king  readily  granted  an  amnesty  and  oblivion  for  the 
past  on  the  condition  that  within  a  given  time  the  fortresses  which 
still  held  out  should  be  surrendered. 

Abderahman  had  thus,  in  the  short  space  of  a  year,  triumphed 
over  enemies  formidable  alike  from  their  valor  and  numbers.  His 
satisfaction  was  not  a  little  increased  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  whom 
he  called  Hixem,  after  his  ancestors  of  that  name.  The  peace 
which  his  arms  had  won  allowed  him  leisure  for  the  improvement 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  69 

758 

of  his  capital.  By  stupendous  embankments  he  narrowed  the  bed 
of  the  Guadalquivir;  and  the  space  thus  rescued  from  the  waters 
he  transformed  into  extensive  gardens,  in  the  center  of  which  a 
tower  arose  commanding  a  vast  prospect.  He  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  who  transplanted  the  palm  into  the  congenial  climate 
of  Spain;  and  by  the  Arabic  poets  of  that  country  much  credit 
is  given  him  for  verses  written  while  contemplating  that  graceful 
tree. 

From  such  occupations  the  king  was  summoned  by  more  ac- 
tive cares.  The  arrival  of  some  illustrious  Saracens,  partisans  of 
his  house,  and  therefore  obnoxious  to  Abul  Abbas,  whom  he  had 
specially  invited,  strengthened  his  hands.  Them  he  appointed  to 
honorable  posts ;  as  also  Samail,  because  the  latter  had  inclined  the 
emir  to  sue  for  peace.  But  Yussuf  regretted  his  former  power:  and 
that  regret  was  not  diminished  on  finding  that  many  sheiks  were  still 
attached,  if  not  to  his  person,  at  least  to  his  government,  under 
which  they  had  enjoyed  more  impunity  than  they  could  ever  expect 
under  the  firmer  administration  of  a  king.  Besides,  the  usual 
passions  of  our  nature — mortification  at  being  overlooked  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  court  favors ;  jealousy,  and  even  hatred,  of  the  more 
successful — would  induce  not  a  few  in  behalf  of  any  change  which 
promised  to  favor  their  ambition.  Yussuf  now  took  advantage  of 
this  state  of  peace ;  he  conspired  with  his  old  supporters ;  lamented 
that  he  had  given  up  Elvira  and  Granada,  but  resolved  to  retain 
possession  of  the  fortresses  he  still  held.  He  next  raised  troops  and 
seized  on  the  fort  of  Almodovar,  Abdelmelic,  governor  of  Seville, 
was  sent  by  the  king  in  758  to  crush  the  rebellion.  After  a  series 
of  unsuccessful  maneuvers,  Yussuf,  whose  preparations  were  not 
yet  completed,  fell  in  a  battle  near  Lorca,  and  his  head  was  sent 
by  the  victorious  general  to  the  king.  According  to  the  barbarous 
custom  of  the  times,  it  was  suspended  from  an  iron  hook  over  one  of 
the  public  gates  of  Cordova. 

During  the  succeeding  four  years  one  insurrection  only,  and 
that  of  no  moment,  disturbed  the  repose  of  Abdcrahman.  But  he 
was  now  menaced  by  an  enemy  more  powerful  than  any  which  had 
yet  assailed  him,  and  one  of  the  last  perhaps  he  would  ever  have 
dreamed  of  opposing.  This  was  no  other  than  Charlemagne,  who 
poured  his  legions  over  the  Pyrenees  into  the  valleys  of  Catalonia. 
The  motives  which  brought  this  emperor  into  Spain  have  been 
matter  of  mucli  dispute  between  tlie  historians  of  the  two  countries. 


TO  SPAIN     A  N  D     PORT  U  GAL 

777 

Indeed,  it  is  not  easy  to  say  what  occasioned  Charlemagne's  extraor- 
chnary  irruption  into  Navarre  and  Catalonia.  The  Arabian  writers 
mention  the  fact,  but  they  are  evidently  ignorant  of  the  cause,  so 
that  all  the  information  that  can  be  found  on  the  subject  must  be 
sought  among  the  Christian  historians. 

The  life  of  Charlemagne,  by  his  own  secretary,  Einhard  or 
Eginhard,  and  other  contemporary  authorities  prove  beyond  doubt 
that  (probably  in  'J']']^  an  embassy  arrived  at  the  court  of  Charles 
requesting  his  aid  for  the  viceroy  of  Catalonia  against  the  Mo- 
hammedans, and  offering  him  in  the  event  of  success  the  feudal 
supremacy.  By  whom  that  embassy  was  sent  is  not  very  clear, 
but  apparently  it  was  dispatched  by  one  Ben  Alarabi  of  Saragossa. 
What  is  undoubted  is  that  the  offer  was  accepted,  and  that  a 
powerful  army,  in  two  columns,  passed  the  Pyrenees.  The 
glory  of  humbling  the  Mohammedan  faith  in  Spain  would  doubt- 
less have  much  weight  with  this  Christian  emperor,  but  from  his 
subsequent  acts  we  may  be  excused  for  suspecting  that  policy,  and 
even  ambition,  had  as  much  influence  over  liim  as  tlie  interests  of 
religion.  He  himself  headed  the  division  which  passed  into 
Navarre  through  Gascony,  and  his  first  conquest  was  the  Christian 
city  of  Pampeluna.  The  walls  he  leveled  with  the  ground,  and 
thence  proceeded  to  Saragossa  to  effect  a  junction  with  the  other 
divisions  of  his  army,  which  had  marched  by  way  of  Roussillon. 
That  city  quickly  owned  his  supremacy,  and  so  also,  we  are  told, 
did  Gerona,  Huesca,  and  Barcelona,  the  government  of  which  he 
confided  to  the  sheiks  who  had  invited  him  into  the  Peninsula  and 
had  aided  him  with  their  influence.  If  the  testimony  of  Eginhard 
be  admissible,  the  whole  country,  from  the  Iberus  to  the  Pyrenees, 
in  like  manner  owned  his  authority.  How  far  he  might  have 
carried  his  arms  had  not  the  revolt  of  the  Saxons  summoned  him 
to  a  more  urgent  scene,  it  would  be  useless  to  conjecture,  but  that 
he  meditated  the  subjugation  of  the  Peninsula, — of  the  portions 
held  by  the  Christians,  as  well  as  those  subject  to  the  misbelievers, 
— may  be  reasonably  inferred  both  from  his  immense  preparations 
and  from  the  admission  of  the  most  ancient  historians  of  that 
period.  The  inaction  of  Abderahman  shows  plainly  enough  that 
he  was  unable  to  cope  with  the  imperial  forces ;  but  the  result  of 
this  expedition  must  be  acknowledged  as  inglorious  to  Charle- 
magne. Scarcely  had  that  monarch  passed  the  Pyrenees  when 
Abderahman  recovered  Saragossa  and  the  t)ther  places  which  had 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  71 

787 

yielded  and  Abderahman  was  freed  from  the  formidable  invader, 
though  still  subject  to  the  curse  of  domestic  sedition. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  reign  Abderahman  convoked  at 
Cordova  the  walis  of  the  six  great  provinces,  Toledo,  Merida, 
Saragossa,  Valencia,  Granada,  and  Murcia ;  the  walis  of  the  twelve 
cities  next  in  importance,  with  the  wazirs  of  both,  and  his  chief 
counselors,  for  the  purpose  of  naming  his  successor.  As  had  been 
long  anticipated,  his  choice  fell  on  Hixem,  the  youngest  and  best 
beloved  of  his  sons,  who  received  the  homage  of  the  assembled 
chiefs.  Solyman  and  Abdalla,  who  were  present  at  the  ceremony, 
showed  no  discontent — doubtless  because  they  dared  not — at  this 
preference  of  a  younger  brother. 

Abderahman  died  in  787.  The  chief  features  of  his  character 
were  honor,  generosity,  and  intrepidity,  with  a  deeply  rooted 
regard  for  the  interests  of  justice  and  religion.  His  views  for  a 
Mussulman  were  enlightened,  and  his  sentiments  liberal.  Mis- 
fortune had  been  his  schoolmaster,  and  he  profited  by  its  lessons. 
He  was  an  encourager  of  literature,  as  appears  from  the  number 
of  schools  he  founded  and  endowed;  of  poetry,  in  particular,  he 
must  have  been  fond  or  he  would  not  have  cultivated  it  himself. 
In  short,  his  highest  praise  is  the  fact  that  Mohammedan  Spain 
wanted  a  hero  and  legislator  to  lay  the  first  stone  of  her  prosperity, 
and  that  she  found  both  in  him. 

Hixem  ben  Abderahman,  surnamed  Alhadi  Rhadi,  the  Just 
and  the  Good,  was  immediately  proclaimed  at  IMerida,  whither  he 
had  accompanied  his  dying  father,  and  his  elevation  was  hailed  by 
tlie  acclamations  of  all  Spain.  His  mildness  of  manner,  his  love  of 
justice,  his  liberal  and  enlightened  views  afforded  his  people  good 
ground  to  hope  for  a  happy  reign.  But  its  commencement  did  not 
correspond  with  the  general  wish,  though  that  commencement  could 
scarcely  be  unexpected.  Both  his  brothers  revolted,  notwithstand- 
ing tlie  anxiety  of  the  king  to  live  with  them  on  terms  of  fraternal 
affection. 

The  success  v;ith  which  Hixem  had  crushed  these  formidable 
insurrections  roused  within  him  the  latent  sjiarks  of  aml)ition  ;  he 
now  aspired  to  conquests  not  only  in  the  Asturias,  but  in  Gothic 
Ciaul.  He  proclaimed  the  Algihcd.  or  Holy  War,  which  every 
Mussulman  was  bound  to  aid,  if  young,  by  personal  service,  if  rich 
and  adx'anced  in  years,  bv  the  contribution  of  horses,  arms,  or 
money.     Two  formidable  armies  were  immediately  ]nit  in  motion; 


72  SPAIN     AND     rORTUGAL 

798-808 

one  39,000  strong,  which  was  headed  by  the  hagib  or  prime  minister, 
marched  into  the  Asturias;  the  other,  which  was  still  more  numer- 
ous, was  under  the  orders  of  Abdalla  ben  Abdelmelic,  advanced 
towards  the  Pryenees. 

His  ill  or,  at  most,  very  partial  success  seems  to  have  damped 
the  ambition  of  Hixem.  He  now  applied  himself  exclusively  to  the 
arts  of  peace, — to  the  encouragement  of  science,  of  religion,  and  of 
learning,  and  to  the  welfare  of  his  people.  In  the  seventh  year  of 
his  reign  he  caused  his  son  Alhakem  to  be  recognized  as  his  succes- 
sor, and  died  in  a  few  months  afterwards  (in  796),  universally  la- 
mented by  his  subjects. 

The  reign  of  Alhakem  was  one  of  extreme  agitation.  No 
sooner  were  his  uncles  acquainted  with  the  death  of  the  able  and 
virtuous  Hixem  than  they  resolved  to  assert  their  rights  of  primo- 
geniture. Without  difficulty  Abdalla  seized  on  Toledo,  while  Soly- 
man,  from  his  residence  at  Tangier,  caused  his  gold  to  be  lavishly 
distributed  among  such  chiefs  as  he  knew  were  friendly  to  his 
cause.  Toledo  was  immediately  invested,  but  as  the  king  suddenly 
departed  for  Catalonia,  to  recover  some  conquests  made  by  the 
Franks,  the  siege  was  prosecuted  with  little  vigor.  On  his  trium- 
phant return,  however,  and  on  his  obtaining  a  signal  victory  over 
his  rebel  uncles,  the  place  capitulated  to  his  general,  Amru.  After 
this  defeat  Solyman  and  Abdalla  retreated  through  the  mountains 
to  Valencia.  They  were  pursued  by  the  king,  who  again  triumphed 
over  them,  and  more  signally  than  before,  Solyman  being  left  dead 
on  the  field. 

During  this  revolt,  as  just  stated,  the  Franks,  after  reducing 
Narbonne,  invaded  Catalonia.  They  were  invited  by  some 
Moorish  rebels,  who  sighed  after  independence,  or  at  most  a  nomi- 
nal dependence  on  the  emperor.  The  wars  which  followed  were  to 
both  parties  diversified  in  success,  and  were  frequently  suspended 
by  mutual  agreement. 

While  these  transactions  were  passing  in  Catalonia,  Alfonso 
the  Chaste,  king  of  the  Asturias,  was  eager  to  profit  by  the  division 
in  his  favor.  To  punish  his  revolt  in  801,  Alhakem  ascended  the 
Fbro  from  Saragossa  and  ravaged  his  eastern  territories.  In  808 
Alfonso  crossed  the  Duero,  invaded  Lusitania,  and  took  Lisbon. 
Alhakem  hastened  to  the  theater  of  war  and  obtained  some  successes, 
but  as  Alfonso  probably  retired  before  him,  and  as  the  operations 
became  tedious  and  indecisive,  he  at  Icngtli  returned  to  his  capital. 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  73 

821-850 

leaving  the  command  of  the  army  to  Abdalla  ben  Malchi  and  Abdal- 
kerim.  This  was  the  time  for  the  Christian  king  to  assume  the  offen- 
sive :  he  gained  first  a  signal  victory  over  Abdalla  in  Gallicia,  who 
fell  on  the  field,  and  next  over  the  other  general,  whom  he  routed  in 
like  manner,  and  whom  in  a  second  action  he  not  only  defeated,  but 
slew.  Abderahman  now  advanced,  defeated  Alfonso  on  the  banks 
of  the  Duero,  took  Zamora,  and  compelled  that  king  to  sue  for  peace. 

Internally  the  reign  of  Alhakem  was  no  less  troubled.  Scarcely 
was  the  rebellion  of  his  uncles  repressed  when  the  tyranny  of 
Yussuf  ben  Amru  occasioned  great  disorders  in  Toledo. 

About  the  same  time  a  conspiracy  was  formed  in  Cordova 
itself,  the  object  of  which  was  to  assassinate  Alhakem  and  to  raise 
a  grandson  of  the  first  Abderahman  to  the  vacant  throne.  The  fatal 
secret  was  revealed  to  the  monarch's  private  ear  by  one  of  the  sons 
and  hostages  of  his  uncle  Abdalla,  whose  fortunes  it  was  intended  to 
raise.  The  very  day  on  which  this  tragedy  was  to  be  perpetrated 
three  hundred  gory  heads  were  exhibited  in  the  most  public  part  of 
Cordova,  Had  his  own  been  there,  instead  of  them,  no  public 
sorrow  would  have  been  manifested.  His  severity,  we  may  add, 
his  cruelty,  and  still  more,  perhaps,  his  recent  treaty  with  Alfonso, 
rendered  him  no  favorite  with  the  people. 

From  this  moment  Alhakem,  who  acquired  the  surname  of  the 
Cruel,  was  torn  by  incessant  remorse.  His  imagination  was  con- 
tinually haunted  by  the  specters  of  his  murdered  people.  Solitude 
was  intolerable  and  sleep  almost  impossible.  In  821  the  tyrant 
breathed  his  last. 

Abderahman  11.  had  long  made  himself  beloved,  both  in  a 
private  capacity  and  as  the  deputy  of  his  father :  happines  was  as 
mucli  hoped  from  his  reign,  and  as  much  was  it  alloyed  by  many 
misfortunes.  The  first  was  the  hostile  arrival  of  his  great  uncle, 
Abdalla,  son  of  Abderahman  I.,  who,  though  on  the  verge  of  the 
tomb,  resolved  to  strike  another  blow  for  empire.  With  his 
treasures  this  restless  old  man  had  raised  troops,  and  caused  himself 
to  be  proclaimed  king.  He  was  speedily  defeated  by  his  active 
kinsman,  and  was  pursued  to  Valencia,  within  the  walls  of  which 
he  took  shelter. 

In  his  transactions  with  the  Christians  of  the  Asturias  and  Cata- 
lonia Abderahman  was  more  fortunate  than  his  two  predecessors. 
Barcelona  was  recovered  by  the  Alohammedan  forces;  and  the  in- 
fiuence  of  the  Franks  was  still  farther  weakened  bv  the  revolt  oi 


74  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

850-859 

Aizo,  one  of  their  counts.  Three  armies  of  Franks  successively  ap- 
peared in  Spain,  but  effected  nothing;  while  a  Mohammedan  fleet 
burned  the  suburbs  of  Marseilles.  In  fact,  most  of  the  petty 
sovereignties  which  France  had  founded  were  either  subject  to  the 
Moors  or  were  aiming  at  independence. 

In  850  Abderahman  caused  his  son  Mohammed  to  be  acknowl- 
edged wali  alhadi.  In  852  he  died,  universally  lamented  by  his 
people.  The  reign  of  Mohammed  I.  contains  little  to  strike  the  at- 
tention. He  was  always  at  war,  either  with  the  Asturians  or  his  own 
subjects.  Ramiro,  Ordono,  and  Alfonso  III.  successively  defeated 
his  best  troops  and  gradually  enlarged  their  dominions.  Not  that 
no  victories  were  gained  by  him  or  his  generals.  Two  are  espe- 
cially named,  one  in  Navarre,  the  other  in  Alva;  but  they  were 
without  result,  while  those  of  the  Christians  were  generally  fol- 
lowed by  the  reduction  of  some  town  or  fortress.  Alfonso  amplified 
the  Christian  states  nearly  one-half:  to  Galicia  and  the  Asturias  he 
added  the  rest  of  Leon,  Old  Castile,  Estremadura,  and  a  consider- 
able portion  of  Lusitania.  To  account  for  this  increased  success 
we  must  take  into  consideration  the  increased  strength  of  the  Chris- 
tian monarchs,  who  were  acknowledged  lords  paramount  over 
Castile  and  Navarre,-  and  the  weakness  of  the  kingdom  of  Cordova, 
occasioned  by  its  internal  dissensions. 

Mohammed  was  ultimately  more  successful  in  his  contests  with 
his  subjects  than  with  his  natural  enemies.  Of  the  difficulty,  how- 
ever, with  which  this  success  was  obtained,  Muza  ben  Zeyad,  the 
wali  of  Saragossa,  and  Omar,  a  bandit  chief,  afford  us  abundant 
proof.  Muza  and  his  son,  who  was  wali  of  Toledo,  withstood  a 
siege  of  five  or  six  years  witliin  that  ancient  Christian  capital, 
and  when  it  was  compelled  to  capitulate  (in  859)  they  contrived  to 
effect  their  escape.  Mohammed  now  advanced  to  chastise  the  dar- 
ing rebel.  Omar,  seeing  that  open  resistance  would  be  unavailing, 
had  recourse  to  cunning.  By  his  messengers  he  persuaded  the  king 
that  his  only  object  in  arming  was  to  fall  on  the  Christians,  his  allies, 
that  he  was  still  a  true  professor  of  Islam,  and  loyal  to  his  legiti- 
mate ruler.  Mohammed  praised  him  for  his  policy,  promised  to 
reward  him  with  a  good  government,  and  actually  sent  his  nephew, 
Zeid  ben  Cassim,  with  a  body  of  Valencian  cavalry  to  strengthen 
Omar.     The  prince  and  his  followers  were  received  with  respect, 

2  Castile  was  held  as  a  fief  of  the  crown  of  tlie  Asturias  and  Leon;  it  was 
formed  as  a  barrier  against  the  Moliammedan  inroads. 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  75 

859-888 

but  were  assassinated  the  very  night  of  their  reaching  the  camp  of 
their  treacherous  alhes.  Mohammed  swore  to  be  revenged,  and 
ordered  his  valiant  son  Almondhir  with  the  chief  force  of  his  king- 
dom to  crush  the  perfidious  outlaw.  Omar  escaped  into  the  Pyre- 
nees, exhorting  his  remaining  followers  to  submit,  but  promising 
that  if  his  life  w^ere  spared  he  would  again  be  in  the  field  with  a 
new  army.  He  kept  his  word.  He  offered  his  services  to  the 
Navarrese,  gained  them  many  fortresses,  and  received  from  them 
the  title  of  king.  He  defeated  the  united  forces  of  the  wali  of  Sara- 
gossa  and  the  alcaid  of  Huesca,  and  conquered  the  whole  country 
as  far  as  the  Ebro.  This  time  the  king  in  person,  with  his  son 
Almondhir  and  his  best  officers,  hastened  to  the  field.  Omar  en- 
deavored to  avoid  an  open  engagement,  but  was  forced  to  defend 
himself,  and  was  defeated  and  slain. 

If  to  these  agitating  scenes  we  add  a  drought  of  a  year's  dura- 
tion, the  third  which  had  visited  Spain  within  the  short  period  of 
twenty  years ;  an  earthquake  which  swallowed  several  towns,  and 
another  invasion  of  the  Normans,  who  ruined  the  places  on  the 
coast  of  Andalusia  and  plundered  the  superb  mosque  of  Algeziras, 
some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  disasters  of  this  reign. 

The  death  of  Mohammed  was  sudden.  One  summer  evening 
he  was  seated  in  his  garden,  conversing  w'ith  several  of  his  minis- 
ters and  servants.  "How  happy  is  the  condition  of  kings!'' 
exclaimed  Haxem  ben  Abdelasis,  the  courtly  wali  of  Jaen :  "for 
them  the  pleasures  of  life  are  expressly  made."  "  The  path  of 
kings,"  replied  the  more  experienced  monarch,  "  is  indeed,  in 
appearance,  strewed  with  flowers ;  but  thou  seest  not  that  these 
roses  have  their  thorns."  While  uttering  these  commonplace 
truths, — and  little  above  commonplace  observation  is  to  be  found 
in  the  whole  range  of  Mohammedan  wisdom, — he  little  thought 
his  own  term  was  so  near.  He  retired  to  rest,  but  awoke  no  more 
on  earth. 

Almondhir,  who  in  his  father's  lifetime  had  been  declared  wali 
alhadi,  ascended  the  throne  with  the  prospects  of  a  happy  reign, 
but  these  prospects  were  soon  to  be  blasted,  for  in  the  second  year 
of  his  reign  he  fell  in  battle  with  the  fonnidable  Calib  ben  Omar. 

The  reign  of  Abdalla,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Almondhir, 
was  destined  to  be  as  troubled  as  anv  of  his  predecessors.  One  of 
the  first  revolts  was  headed  by  his  eldest  son  ?vIohammed,  who  was 
dissatisfied,  first  with   the   restoration  of  the  sons  of  Haxem,  his 


76  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

888-918 

personal  enemies,  to  the  favor  of  the  king,  and  next,  perhaps,  with 
his  own  dependent  situation.  He  was  joined  by  his  brother  Alkas- 
sim  and  by  the  chief  wahs  of  Andalusia.  After  various  alter- 
nations of  fortune  he  was  defeated  by  his  younger  brother  Ab- 
derahman,  was  severely  wounded  in  the  battle,  and  w^as  consigned 
to  a  dungeon  by  the  victor,  until  the  king's  pleasure  could  be  known. 
There  he  died,  whether  in  consequence  of  his  wounds  or  by  vio- 
lence is  uncertain,  Alkassim  was  pardoned,  but  ere  long  he  en- 
gaged in  another  rebellion  and  lost  his  liberty. 

Abdalla  died  in  912,  leaving  behind  him  the  character  of  a 
mild,  just,  and  enlightened  ruler. 

On  the  death  of  Abdalla  the  throne  of  Mohammedan  Spain 
was  filled  by  Abderahman  III.,  son  of  the  rebel  prince  Mohammed 
who  had  so  mysteriously  died  in  prison,  and,  therefore,  grandson  of 
Abdalla.  Why  the  deceased  king  did  not  procure  the  elevation  of 
his  own  son  Abderahman,  surnamed  Almudafar,  or  the  Victorious, 
surprised  many,  but  grieved  none.  Though  Almudafar  was  a 
hero  and  had  even  been  the  firmest  support  of  the  throne,  his 
disposition  was  stern  and  his  heart  unrelenting;  while  the  young 
Abderahman,  from  his  mildness  of  manner,  his  generosity,  and  his 
astonishing  progress  in  learning,  was  the  universal  favorite  of  the 
nation.  All  testified  unfeigned  joy  when  Abdalla,  from  his  bed 
of  death,  set  aside  the  dark  and  gloomy  Almudafar  from  the  suc- 
cession and  caused  the  hopeful  Abderahman  to  be  acknowledged 
as  wall  alhadi. 

The  pacification  of  his  kingdom  allowed  Abderahman  leisure 
to  dream  of  ambition,  which  opportunity  seasonably  aided.  Yahia 
ben  Edris,  the  eighth  sovereign  of  Fez,  besieged  in  his  capital  by 
Obeidala,  the  first  caliph  of  the  Fatimites,  could  escape  subjugation 
only  by  tlie  ofl^er  of  all  his  treasures  and  by  renouncing  his  inde- 
pendence. But  this  inglorious  security  was  of  short  duration :  the 
emir  of  Mequinez,  Aben  Alafia,  entered  his  capital,  and  compelled 
him  to  flee.  But  the  most  memorable  of  the  warlike  exploits  of  this 
king  were  against  the  Christians  of  Leon  and  the  Asturias.  Soon 
after  the  accession  of  Abderahman,  Ordon  11.  invaded  the  Mo- 
hammedan possessions,  and,  if  any  faith  is  to  be  had  in  the  chron- 
iclers of  his  nation,  he  ruined  Talavcra,  and  obtained  many  other 
advantages,  of  which,  however,  not  the  slightest  mention  is  made 
by  the  Mohammedan  writers. 

In  his  internal  administration  Abderahman  was  distincfuislied 


D  O  lAI  I  N  I  O  N     O  F     T  H  E     A  11  A  13  S 


77 


912-961 

for  great  capacity  of  mind,  for  unbounded  liberality,  for  unrivaled 
magnificence,  and  for  inflexible  justice.  The  foundation  of  the 
palace  and  town  of  Medina-Azhara,  about  two  leagues  from  Cor- 
dova,— the  former  distinguished  for  all  the  splendor  of  art  and 
wealth,  the  latter  for  a  mosque  which  rivaled  that  of  Cordova, — 
attested  his  taste  and  luxury. 

The  years  of  Abderahman  III.,  from  912  to  961,  are  called  the 
most  brilliant  period  in  the  history  of  the  Spanish  Arabs.     That 


6^Y     OF     Biscay 


H 


POLITICAL.  DIVISIONS 
or 

SPAIN*-  PORTUGAL 

AD .910. 


commerce  flourished,  and  riches  were  accumulated  in  an  unexampled 
degree ;  that  a  powerful  navy  was  formed  and  maintained  in  full 
activity;  that  the  arts  and  sciences  were  cultivated  with  ardor,  be- 
cause their  professors  were  rewarded  with  princely  liberality;  that 
many  splendid  public  works  were  undertaken  in  the  principal  towns 
of  Mohammedan  Spain ;  that  the  king  was  the  friend  of  industry, 
of  merit,  and  of  poverty;  that  his  fame  was  so  widely  diffused  as 
to  bring  even  rich  embassies  from  Constantinople; — are  undoubted 
and  indisputed  facts.  But  if  this  reign  was  the  most  magnificent, 
was  it  also  the  most  powerful  era  of  Arabian  domination?  Nearly 
one-half  of  it  v/as  spent  in  subduing  rebels,  who  set  that  power  at 
open  defiance;  and  if  the  Christians  made  no  new  conquests,  they 
suffered  none  to  be  taken  from  them.  The  military  force  of  the 
kingdom  was  as  great,  and  that  king(l(^m  itself  much  more  extended, 
in  the  reign  of  Abdcraliman  1..  who  will  scarcelv  suffer  l)v  a  com- 


78  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

965-1002 

parison  with  his  more  renowned  successor  in  any  of  the  quahties 
necessary  to  form  a  great  monarch.  But  each,  though  sometimes 
in  a  different  way,  sought  the  prosperity  of  the  country,  and  each 
had  reason  to  exult  in  his  success. 

Alhakem  II,,  the  son  and  successor  of  Abderahman,  inherited 
all  the  great  qualities  of  his  father.  He  was,  however,  averse  to 
war,  fond  of  tranquillity,  and  immoderately  attached  to  literature. 
His  agents  were  constantly  employed  in  the  East  in  purchasing 
scarce  and  curious  books :  he  himself  wrote  to  every  author  of  repu- 
tation for  a  copy  of  that  author's  works,  for  which  he  paid  royally  ; 
and  wherever  he  could  not  purchase  a  book,  he  caused  it  to  be  tran- 
scribed. By  this  means  he  collected  an  extensive  library,  the  un- 
finished catalogue  of  which,  in  the  time  of  Aben  Hayan,  reached 
forty-four  volumes.  His  reign  is  the  golden  age  of  Arabian  litera- 
ture in  Spain. 

As  Hixem  II.,  the  son  and  successor  of  Alhakem,  was  but 
eleven  years  old  when  he  ascended  the  throne,  the  regency  was  con- 
ferred by  the  queen-mother  on  her  secretary,  Mohammed  ben  Ab- 
dalla,  a  man  of  great  genius,  valor,  and  activity.  Mohammed, 
better  known  as  Almansor,  may,  in  fact,  be  regarded  as  the  king, 
for  he  alone  throughout  life  governed  the  realm.  Hixem  was  too 
feeble,  too  despicable,  too  much  addicted  to  slothful  pleasures,  to 
command  even  the  passing  notice  of  the  people.  The  wars  of 
Almanscfr  with  the  Christians,  w^hich  proved  so  fatal  to  them,  oc- 
cupy the  most  prominent  part  of  the  administration.  In  the  year 
looi  the  Mohammedan  army,  in  two  formidable  bodies,  ascended 
the  Duero  and  encountered  the  Christians  in  the  vicinity  of  Calat 
Ahosor,  a  place  between  Soria  and  Medina  Coeli.  That  the  loss 
on  both  sides  was  immense  may  well  be  concei\-ed  from  the  des- 
perate valor  of  the  two  armies.  If  x-Mmansor  by  his  frequent  and 
impetuous  assaults  broke  the  adverse  line,  it  was  soon  re-formed,  and 
the  next  moment  saw  the  Christians  in  the  very  heart  of  tlie infidels. 

Almansor  died  August  14.  T002.  He  was  fomied  for  a 
great  so\-ereign.  He  was  not  only  the  most  al:)le  of  generals 
and  the  most  valiant  of  soldiers,  but  he  was  an  eiilightened  states- 
man, an  active  governor,  an  encourager  of  science  and  tlic  arts,  and 
a  magnificent  rewarder  of  merit.  His  loss  was  fatal  to  Cordova. 
In  limited  monarchies,  where  the  empire  of  the  laws  is  supreme, 
and  where  the  higher  dignities  m;iy  be  attained  by  the  meritorious, 
howe\er  liumble  in  tlieir  condition  of  life,   the  chasm  occasioned 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  79 

1006-1009 

by  the  loss  of  such  a  man  is  filled  up  by  a  suitable  successor;  but 
in  a  despotic  state,  where  the  person  is  everything  and  the  laws 
nothing,  and  where,  as  there  are  no  certain  rewards  for  merit,  merit 
will  seldom  be  found,  the  removal  of  the  guiding  hand  of  an  able 
ruler  may  precipitate  the  whole  machine  into  the  gulf  of  ruin.  The 
Cordovans,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  Mussulman  population  of  Spain, 
seem  to  have  been  seized  with  just  apprehensions  for  the  fate  of  the 
monarchy.  Their  hero  and  father  was  no  more,  and  his  loss  was 
little  likely  to  be  repaired  under  so  imbecile  and  despicable  a  ruler 
as  Hixem.  The  national  sorrow,  indeed,  was  mitigated  for  a 
moment  by  the  appointment  of  Abdelmelic,  his  son,  to  the  vacant 
post  of  hagib.  This  minister  promised  to  tread  in  the  steps  of  his 
illustrious  father :  his  administration  both  in  Africa  and  Spain  was 
signalized  by  great  spirit  and  valor.  On  his  return  from  one  of 
his  predatory  inroads — for  such  were  his  expeditions — into  Estre- 
madura,  he  was  seized  with  excruciating  pains — the  effect,  probably, 
of  poison,  and  died  in  1006,  in  the  seventh  year  of  his  adminis- 
tration.    \\^ith  him  ended  the  prosperity  of  Mohammedan  Spain. 

Abderahman,  the  brother  of  Abdelmelic,  was  next  advanced  to 
the  post  of  hagib.  Vain,  thoughtless,  and  dissipated,  his  kindred 
qualities  made  him  dear  to  the  worthless  Hixem  who  made  him  his 
successor;  but  the  race  of  the  Omeyas  was  not  extinct,  and  Mo- 
hammed, a  prince  of  that  house,  hastened  to  the  frontier,  collected 
partisans,  and  returned  to  Andalusia.  Abderahman,  who  was  not 
deficient  in  courage  and  whose  pretensions  had  gained  him  many  ad- 
herents, left  Cordova,  to  crush  the  dangerous  rebellion.  But  Mo- 
hammed was  too  wily  for  the  minister.  Hearing  that  the  capital 
was  left  undefended,  he  divided  his  forces  into  two  bodies,  left  one 
to  oppose  Abderahman,  while  with  the  other  he  rapidly  marched  on 
the  city,  forcibly  seized  on  the  palace  and  king,  and  proclaimed  the 
deposition  of  the  hagib.  The  latter  furiously  hastened  to  Cordova, 
and  attempted  to  enter  the  town  in  opposition  to  the  entreaties  of  his 
officers;  but  his  entry  v>-as  disputed  not  only  by  tlie  troops  of  ]\Io- 
hammed,  but  by  the  fickle  mob,  who  to-day  cliaracteristically  joined 
in  breaking  the  idol  they  had  worshiped  yesterday.  He  endeavored 
U)  retreat,  but  in  vain.  He  was  speedily  surrounded,  was  wounded, 
taken,  and  crucified  by  the  barbarous  victor  on  the  i8th  day  of 
Jumadi  I.,  a.it.  399.'' 

?^[ol:r>inmecl    was    appointed   liagil),   but    aspiring   to   be   king, 

'•  The   fir^t  day  of  this  year  corresponds   witli   September  4,   1008.     Whence 
January  17,  a.d.  loog. 


80  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1012-1015 

secretly  imprisoned  Hixem,  announced  his  death,  and  proclaimed 
his  own  succession.  But  the  dangerous  example  which  he  him- 
self had  set  of  successful  rehellion  was  too  attractive  not  to  be 
followed,  and  his  own  acts  hastened  the  invitation.  Incensed 
against  the  African  guard  which  had  supported  the  factions  of 
Abderahman,  he  dissolved  that  formidable  body,  and  ordered  them 
to  be  expelled  the  city.  They  naturally  resisted,  but  with  the  aid 
of  the  populace  he  at  length  forced  them  beyond  the  walls,  and 
threw  them  the  head  of  their  chief.  The  exasperated  Africans  swore 
to  be  revenged,  and  proclaimed  Solyman,  or  Suleiman,  of  the  royal 
blood  of  the  Omeyas,  the  successor  of  Hixem. 

Solyman  began  his  reign — for  so  long  as  Hixem  lived  he  can- 
not be  properly  ranked  among  the  kings  of  Cordova — by  rewarding 
his  adherents  in  the  most  lavish  manner.  He  confirmed  them, 
as  he  had  promised,  in  the  hereditary  possession  of  their  fiefs,  thus 
engrafting  on  a  strangely  foreign  stock  the  feudal  institution  of 
more  northern  nations.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  creation  of 
numerous  independent  sovereignties,  and  consequently  for  the  ruin 
of  Mohammedan  Spain. 

The  hagib  Hairan,  who  had  escaped  to  his  government  of  Al- 
meria,  swore  to  be  revenged  on  this  new^  usurper.  As,  however, 
no  forces  which  he  could  bring  into  the  field  could  contend  for  a 
moment  with  those  of  Solyman,  he  passed  over  to  Ceuta,  to  interest 
the  governor,  Ali  ben  Hamad,  in  his  project.  He  represented  to 
that  wali  the  odium  in  which  the  usurper  was  held  by  the  ]\Ioham- 
medans,  intimated  his  belief  that  Hixem  3'et  lived,  and  urged  AH 
to  arm  in  favor  of  suffering  royalty.  The  latter  swore  to  avenge 
his  injured  monarch,  and  wuth  his  brother  Alcassim  he  commenced 
hostilities  in  Andalusia.  After  some  rapid  successes  they  and 
Hairan  were  met  by  Solyman  in  the  environs  of  Almunecar.  See- 
ing their  numbers,  and  perhaps  distrusting  the  fidelity  of  his  troops, 
the  king  endeavored  to  avoid  a  general  action,  but  being  forced  by 
Ali  into  an  unfavorable  position,  he  was  compelled  to  fight.  The 
contest  w'as  indecisive ;  nor  in  the  desultory  twelve-months'  warfare 
w'hich  followed  could  either  boast  of  much  advantage.  In  the  end, 
however,  Solyman  was  forsaken  by  most  of  the  walls,  his  allies — 
they  can  no  longer  be  called  subjects;  his  troops  deserted  to  swell 
the  ranks  of  his  enemy,  and  in  a  battle  near  Seville  his  .Vndalusian 
adherents  turned  against  him,  and  thereby  decided  his  fate.  He 
perished  by  the  hands  of  the  victor  in  1015. 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  81 

1018-1023 

By  his  followers  Ali  was  proclaimed  king  of  Mohammedan 
Spain,  but  not  until  search  had  been  vainly  made  for  Hixem.  The 
crown  was  not  destined  to  sit  more  lightly  on  his  head  than  on  that 
of  his  immediate  predecessor.  The  walis  of  Seville,  Merida, 
Toledo,  and  Saragossa  did  not  condescend  to  answer  the  letters 
announcing  his  succession;  and  even  Hairan,  who  had  zealously 
labored  for  his  elevation,  forsook  him.  This  restless  man,  intent 
on  breaking  the  work  of  his  own  hands,  joined  the  disaffected  walis; 
called  all  the  faithful  to  arms,  to  restore  some  one  of  the  immediate 
descendants  of  the  great  Abderahman.  The  multitude  began  to 
feel  some  affection  for  their  ancient  kings,  or  rather  to  contrast  the 
advantages  once  possessed  under  their  scepter,  with  the  anarchy, 
the  desolation,  and  the  misery  of  the  present  condition.  The  wall 
of  Jaen,  Abderahman  Almortadi,  was  proclaimed  king  in  that  city, 
and  measures  were  taken  to  depose  the  reigning  usurper.  For 
some  time,  indeed,  these  measures  were  vain;  Hairan  was  thrice 
defeated,  and,  on  the  last  occasion,  beheaded  by  Ali.  The  victor 
returned  triumphant  to  Cordova,  but  he  found  an  enemy  where  he 
least  expected  one ;  he  was  stifled  in  the  bath  by  his  Slavonic  at- 
tendants, and  the  report  circulated  that  his  death  was  natural. 

If  the  murderers  of  Ali  committed  the  deed  at  the  instigation 
of  the  walis  in  the  interests  of  Abderahman,  their  object  was  not 
gained,  for  Alcassim  ben  Hamud,  brother  of  the  deceased  king, 
seized  on  the  throne.  Alcassim,  on  his  entrance  into  Cordova, 
was  welcomed  by  none  of  the  inhabitants,  who  justly  dreaded  his 
vindictive  character.  While  wreaking  his  vengeance,  as  before,  on 
such  as  he  even  suspected,  a  powerful  conspiracy  was  silently  formed 
to  dethrone  him.  When  this  intelligence  was  known  at  Cordova, 
the  Almeris,  or  party  of  the  family  of  the  great  Almansor,  which 
acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  all  these  commotions  and  which  adhered 
to  the  fortunes  of  the  Omeyas,  proclaimed  as  king  Abderahman  ben 
Hixem,  brother  of  the  usurper  Mohammed. 

Abderahman  V.  (the  IVth  was  the  sovereign  of  Jaen,  Abderah- 
man Almortadi,  of  whom  little  is  known)  had  virtues  worthy  of  any 
throne,  but  in  an  age  so  licentious  as  his  they  could  not  fail  to 
hasten  his  ruin.  His  first  object  was  to  reform  his  guards,  whose  dis- 
orders had  long  been  unrepressed,  and  whose  worst  atrocities  none 
of  his  immediate  predecessors  dared  to  punish.  They  became  dis- 
contented and  mutinous.  Mohammed  ben  Abderahman,  cousin  of 
the  king,  a  man  of  boundless  wealth,  fomented  their  dissatisfaction: 


82  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1023-1026 

he  succeeded,  too,  in  corrupting  the  chief  nobles  of  the  city.  In 
the  silence  of  night  he  armed  a  resolute  band  of  his  creatures,  who 
hastened  to  the  palace  and  massacred  the  soldiers  on  duty.  The 
king  awoke,  but  before  he  had  time  to  escape  his  bedchamber  was 
entered,  and  he  was  pierced  with  a  thousand  wounds,  after  a  reign 
of  only  forty-seven  days.  The  conspirators,  displaying  their 
bloody  poniards,  tumultuously  ran  along  the  streets  of  Cordova 
and  proclaimed  their  employer. 

While  Mohammed  II.  thus  reaped  the  reward  of  his  crime, 
Yahia,  who  had  received  the  expected  aid  from  Africa,  resumed  his 
activity.  He  besieged  Xeres  and  "took  his  uncle,  whom  he  threw 
into  prison.  Meanwhile  Mohammed  II.  imposed  contributions  on 
the  inhabitants  of  the  capital :  in  return,  the  mob  demanded  a  cer- 
tain number  of  heads,  and  concluded  by  threatening  both  him  and 
his  hagib.  In  a  panic  of  fear  he  made  a  final  adieu  to  the  delicious 
abode  of  Azhara,  and  with  his  family  reached  the  province  of 
Toledo.  By  the  Alcaid  of  Ucles  he  was  received  with  much  outward 
respect,  but  in  a  few  days  poison  ended  his  guilty  life,  after  a  despic- 
able reign  of  seventeen  months. 

No  sooner  was  Yahia  acquainted  with  the  flight  of  ]\Iohammed 
than  he  received  a  deputation  from  the  inhabitants  of  Cordova,  who 
offered  him  the  vacant  throne.  He  testified  some,  probably  seem- 
ing, reluctance  to  accept  it;  but  the  eagerness  with  which  the  people 
of  that  capital  welcomed  his  approach  made  him  anticipate  a  more 
peaceful  reign  than  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  his  late  predecessors. 
He  was  soon  undeceived :  several  walis  refused  to  do  homage ; 
the  wali  of  Seville  openly  insulted  his  authority.  This  powerful 
and  ambitious  governor,  by  name  Mohammed,  heard  without  ap- 
prehension that  the  king  was  marching  to  punish  him.  He  drew 
Yahia  into  an  ambuscade  in  the  vicinity  of  Ronda.  where  the  latter, 
after  a  desperate  struggle,  perished  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  moon 
r\Ioharram.  a.ii.  417.'* 

The  next  prince  on  whom  the  choice  of  the  Cordovans  fell, 
Hixem  III.,  brother  of  Abderahman  Almortadi,  was  naturallv  loath 
to  accept  a  crown  which  had  destroyed  so  many  of  its  wearers. 
Besides,  he  was  unaffectedly  attached  to  private  life.  In  tlie 
end,  however,  forced  rather  than  persuaded  to  relinquish  his 
scruples,  lie  left  his  retirement.  Knowing  the  inconstancy  of  the 
populace — tlie  real   sovereign   of  the  state — he  proceeded,   not  to 

■t  Fcbruarv  28,  1026.  a.d. 


DOMINION     OF     THE     ARABS  83 

1031-1238 

Cordova,  but  to  the  frontiers,  to  repel  an  invasion  of  the  Christians. 
It  was,  indeed,  time  to  oppose  an  enemy  which,  during  the  recent 
troubles,  had  reduced  a  considerable  portion  of  Lusitania  and  much 
even  of  New  Castile.  The  kings  of  Leon  and  Navarre,  and  the 
count  of  Barcelona,  seemed  by  tacit  compact  to  have  suspended  their 
own  animosities  and  resolved  to  share  the  spoils  of  their  falling 
rival.  Hixem  might  for  a  time  reduce  the  Leonese  to  inaction,  but 
he  could  scarcely  hope  to  obtain  any  decided  success ;  and  we  accord- 
ingly hear  nothing  of  his  exploits  during  the  three  years  he  remained 
on  the  frontiers.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  murmurs  of  his 
subjects,  who  insisted  on  seeing  their  king,  compelled  him  to  visit 
Cordova.  He  was  received  by  the  giddy  populace  with  the  ac- 
customed shouts  of  applause.  But  the  walls  resisted  his  authority. 
To  reduce  them  to  obedience  he  took  the  field,  but  though  he  was  at 
first  victorious,  he  soon  found  they  were  too  pow^erful  for  him,  and 
he  was  compelled  to  treat  with  open  rebels.  Unhappily,  he  had 
but  too  much  reason  to  find  that  neither  private  virtues  nor  public 
services  have  much  influence  over  the  bulk  of  mankind,  and  that  the 
absolute  king  who  has  not  the  power  to  make  himself  feared  will 
not  long  be  suffered  to  reign.  During  the  night  of  the  12th  day  of 
Dilcagiad,  a. 11.  422,''''  a  licentious  mob  paraded  the  streets  of  Cor- 
dova and  loudly  demanded  his  deposition.  He  did  not  wait  the 
effects  of  their  violence :  with  unfeigned  satisfaction  he  retired  to 
private  life,  in  which  he  passed  unmolested  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  The  remembrance  of  his  virtues  long  survived  him,  and  by 
all  the  Arabic  writers  of  his  country  he  is  represented  as  too  good 
for  his  age. 

With  Hixem  III.  ended  the  caliphat  of  the  West  and  the  noble 
race  of  Omeya.  If  the  succession  was  interrupted  by  Ali,  and  AI- 
cassim,  and  Yahia,  who,  though  descended  from  a  kindred  stock, 
were  not  of  the  same  family,  that  interruption  was  l)nt  momentary, 
especially  as  Abderahman  IV.  reigned  at  Jaen,  wliile  the  two  last 
princes  were  acknowledged  at  Cordova.  From  this  period  (a.d. 
1031)  to  the  estalilisliment  of  the  kingdom  of  Granada  in  a.d. 
1238  there  was  no  supreme  chief  of  ^Mohammedan  Spain,  if  we 
except  the  fleeting  conquerors  who  arrived  from  Africa  and  the 
fa1)ric  of  whose  dominion  was  as  suddenly  destroyed  as  it  was 
erected.  The  portion  of  the  country  free  from  the  progressive 
approaches  of  the  (liristian  sovereignty  was  to  be  governed  by  in- 
■"'  A.M.  422  opened   Dcceuiber  28,  a.d.   1030.     Whence  November  29,  loji. 


84  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1031-1238 

dependent  petty  kings,  whose  reigns  occupy  the  first  portion  of  the 
ensuing  chapter. 

Vicious  as  is  the  constitution  of  all  Mohammedan  governments, 
and  destructible  as  are  the  bases  on  which  they  are  founded,  the 
reader  cannot  fail  to  have  been  struck  with  the  fate  of  this  great 
kingdom.  It  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  declined ;  it  fell  at  once. 
Not  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  great  Almansor  wielded  the 
resources  of  Africa  and  Spain  and  threatened  the  entire  destruc- 
tion of  the  Christians,  whom  he  had  driven  into  an  obscure  corner 
of  this  vast  peninsula.  Now  Africa  is  lost;  the  Christians  hold 
two-thirds  of  the  country;  the  petty  but  independent  governors,  the 
boldest  of  whom  trembled  at  the  name  of  Almansor,  openly  insult 
the  ruler  of  Cordova,  whose  authority  extends  little  further  than 
the  walls  of  his  capital.  Assuredly,  so  astounding  a  catastrophe 
has  no  parallel  in  all  history.  Other  kingdoms,  indeed,  as  power- 
ful as  Cordova  have  been  as  speedily,  perhaps,  deprived  of  their 
independence ;  but  if  they  have  been  subdued  by  invading  enemies, 
their  resources,  their  vigor,  to  a  certain  extent  their  greatness,  have 
long  survived  their  loss  of  that  blessing.  Cordova,  in  the  very  full- 
ness of  her  strength,  was  torn  to  pieces  by  her  turbulent  children. 


Chapter    VII 

DOMINION  OF  THE  AFRICANS.  1031-1238 

THE  decline  and  dissolution  of  the  Mohammedan  mon- 
archy, or  Western  cahphat,  afforded  the  ambitious  local 
governors  throughout  the  Peninsula  the  opportunity  for 
which  they  had  long  sighed, — that  of  openly  asserting  their  inde- 
pendence of  Cordova  and  of  assuming  the  title  of  kings.  The  wali 
of  Seville,  Mohammed  ben  Ismail  ben  Abid,  whose  victory  over 
Yahia  has  been  already  recorded,  appears  to  have  been  the  first  to 
assume  the  powers  of  royalty;  and  he  showed  that  he  knew  how  to 
use  them  with  as  much  impunity  as  sovereigns  of  more  sounding 
pretensions:  without  condescending  to  inquire  whether  the  throne 
of  Cordova  was  filled  or  vacant,  he  declared  war  against  the  self- 
elected  king  of  Carmona,  Mohammed  ben  Abdalla,  on  whose  cities, 
Carmona  and  Ecija,  he  had  cast  a  covetous  eye. 

But  Cordova,  however  weakened,  was  not  willing  thus  sud- 
denly to  lose  her  hold  on  her  ancient  subjects:  she  resolved  to  elect 
a  sovereign  who  should  endeavor  to  subdue  these  audacious  rebels 
and  restore  her  ancient  splendor.  The  disasters  which  had  ac- 
companied the  last  reigns  of  the  Omeyan  princes  had  strongly  in- 
disposed the  people  to  the  claims  of  that  illustrious  house.  After 
a  deliberation  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  in- 
volved, the  inhabitants  threw  their  eyes  on  Gehwar  ben  Muhammed, 
a  chief  of  great  prudence  and  of  considerable  enterprise,  who  was 
persuaded  to  undertake  the  arduous  duties  of  government.  But 
Gehwar  had  seen  too  much  of  popular  inconstancy  to  incur  the 
same  fatal  responsibility  as  his  immediate  predecessors.  To 
diminish  the  odium  invariably  attached  to  failure,  he  surrounded 
himself  by  a  council  which  comprised  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
citizens,  and  without  the  advice  of  which  he  undertook  no  one  thing, 
not  even  the  nomination  to  public  offices.  Of  that  council  he  was 
but  the  president,  possessing  but  one  vote  like  the  remaining  mem- 
bers ;  so  that  Cordova  presented  the  appearance  rather  of  a  republic 
than  of  a  monarchy.     But  the  same  success  did  not  attend  him  in 


86  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1043-1060 

his  efforts  to  restore  the  supremacy  of  Cordova.  Some  of  the  walis 
whom  he  summoned  to  take  the  usual  oath  of  fidehty  excused  them- 
selves on  various  grounds;  others  plainly  replied  that  he  must  not 
expect  to  rule  over  any  other  city  than  the  one  he  inhabited:  the 
wall  of  Toledo  advised  him  to  be  grateful  to  the  moderation  of 
men  who  allowed  him  to  retain  Cordova. 

After  triumphing  over  some  neighboring  kings  who  dreaded 
his  increasing  power,  the  sovereign  of  Seville  prepared  to  invade 
the  possessions  of  Gehwar;  but  death  surprised  him  before  those 
preparations  were  completed.  His  son,  Mohammed  Almoateded, 
who  succeeded  him,  was  as  ambitious  as  himself,  but  more  luxur- 
ious. But  this  ostentatious  luxury  did  not  divert  him  from  treading 
in  the  steps  of  his  able  father.  He  seized  on  Huelva,  Niebla,  and 
Gibraltar,  and  aimed  at  the  reduction  of  Carmona,  which  his 
father  had  been  unable  to  effect.  Though  the  fate  of  the  last-named 
place  was  suspended  for  some  years  by  the  energetic  resistance  of 
its  ruler,  in  1052  it  capitulated.  All  southern  Andalusia  was 
now  in  the  power  of  Almoateded,  yet  his  ambition  was  far  from 
satisfied.  For  some  time  he  remained  in  alliance  with  Mohammed, 
the  son  and  successor  of  Gehwar  on  the  throne  of  Cordova ; 
but  he  had  resolved  to  gain  possession  of  that  ancient  capital, — 
w^hether  by  force  or  stratagem  imported  him  little.  That  oppor- 
tunity arrived  in  1060.  The  troops  of  Mohammed  had  just 
been  defeated  by  Aben  Dylnun,  w^ho  followed  up  the  success  by 
investing  Cordova.  The  king  was  too  much  weakened  by  sickness 
to  meet  the  impending  danger,  and  Abdelmelic  was  too  feeble  to 
avert  it  by  his  own  unassisted  arm.  The  latter  prince  hastened  to 
Seville  and  implored  the  immediate  aid  of  his  friend.  That  friend 
arrived  at  the  head  of  a  considerable  army  and  with  the  aid  of  the 
citizens  totally  routed  the  forces  of  Dylnun.  But  while  Abdelmelic 
was  pursuing  the  fugitives  the  unprincipled  ally  moved  his  army 
on  the  city,  took  it,  and  made  the  unsuspecting  Mohammed  prisoner. 
The  shock  was  too  great  for  the  shattered  nerves  of  the  son  of 
Gehwar,  who  soon  expired  of  a  broken  heart.  The  fate  of  Abdel- 
melic was  no  less  melancholy.  On  returning  to  the  capital  which 
his  valor  had  been  instrumental  in  saving,  he  w-as  refused  admis- 
sion, and  was  at  the  same  instant  surrounded  and  made  a  prisoner 
by  the  troops  of  his  perfidious  ally.  Being  consigned  to  a  dungeon 
in  one  of  the  city  towers,  his  wounds,  and  still  more  the  indignation 
which  he  felt  at  hearing  Almoateded  loudly  liailcd  as  sovereign  by 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  87 

1064-1085 

the  despicable  populace, — or  perhaps  a  violent  death, — soon  re- 
united him  with  his  unfortunate  father. 

The  king-  of  Toledo  was  eager  to  erase  the  shame  of  his  defeat 
under  the  walls  of  Cordova,  but  he  dreaded  the  power  of  Almo- 
ateded  and  endeavored  to  strengthen  himself  by  alliances.  His 
son-in-law,  the  king  of  Valencia,  refused  to  aid  him — doubtless 
through  fear  of  the  Sevillian  king.  In  a  transport  of  fury  he  de- 
parted for  Valencia  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  surprised  the  place, 
deposed  and  exiled  his  son-in-law,  and  caused  himself  to  be  pro- 
claimed (1064).  But  though  he  triumphed  over  some  allies 
of  Mohammed,  the  son  and  successor  of  Almoateded,  though  he 
vanquished  the  general  of  that  prince,  though  during  the  absence 
of  Mohammed  he  surprised  both  Cordova  and  Seville,  his  success 
was  transient :  he  was  besieged  in  the  latter  city  by  his  active  enemy, 
and  died  there  at  the  moment  Mohammed  was  advancing  to  take 
it  by  storm.  The  troops  of  the  deceased  king  precipitately  left  the 
place;  Cordova  was  recovered  with  little  difficulty;  Murcia,  the  ally 
of  Toledo,  was  soon  occupied  by  the  conquering  Mohammed ;  Baeza, 
and  other  neighboring  cities,  shared  the  same  fate :  in  short,  after 
so  many  years  of  continued  warfare,  the  king  of  Seville  and  Cor- 
dova became,  not  merely  the  most  powerful,  but  almost  the  only 
independent  sovereign  of  Mohammedan  Spain. 

Yahia  Alkadia,  the  son  and  successor  of  Aben  Dylnun  on  the 
throne  of  Toledo,  inherited  neither  the  courage  nor  the  abilities 
of  that  prince.  Sunk  in  the  lowest  sensuality,  he  regarded  with 
indifference  the  growing  success  of  Mohammed.  He  becafne  at 
length  so  contemptible  that  his  very  subjects  rose  and  expelled  him. 
He  applied  for  aid  to  the  ally  of  his  father,  Alfonso  VI.,  king  of 
Leon,  but  that  prince,  though  under  the  greatest  obligations  to  the 
memory  of  the  father,  was  persuaded  by  the  king  of  Seville  to  adopt 
a  hostile  policy  towards  the  son.  Though  Yahia  was  restored  to 
his  throne  by  the  king  of  Badajoz,  his  destiny,  as  a  Alohammedan 
would  term  it,  was  not  to  be  avoided.  His  states  were  laid  waste 
and  his  capital  invested  by  the  Christian  king.  His  situation  was 
now  critical :  in  vain  did  the  king  of  Badajoz  advance  to  his  assist- 
ance. The  victorious  Alfonso  triumphed  over  all  opposition,  and 
prosecuted  the  siege  with  a  vigor  which  might  have  shown  the 
misbelievers  how  formidable  an  enemy  awaited  them  all,  and  how 
necessary  were  their  combined  efforts  to  resist  him.  But  Moham- 
med, the  only  enemy  whom  the  Christian  licro  had  to  dread,  was  no 


88  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1085-1086 

less  occupied  in  deriving  his  share  of  the  advantages  secured  by 
the  treaty, — in  reducing  the  strong  towns  of  Murcia  and  Granada. 
After  a  siege  of  three  years  Toledo  was  reduced  to  the  last  extrem- 
ity and  was  compelled  to  capitulate.  On  the  25th  of  May,  1085, 
Alfonso  triumphantly  entered  this  ancient  capital  of  the  Goths 
(Yahia  retired  to  Valencia),  w^hich  had  remained  in  the  power  of 
the  misbelievers  for  about  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  years. 

The  conquest  of  Toledo  was  far  from  satisfying  the  ambition 
of  Alfonso :  he  rapidly  seized  on  the  fortresses  of  Madrid,  Maqueda, 
Guadalajara,  and  established  his  dominion  on  both  banks  of  the 
Tagus.  Mohammed  now  began  seriously  to  repent  his  treaty  with 
the  Christian,  and  to  tremble  even  for  his  own  possessions.  He 
vainly  endeavored  to  divert  his  ally  from  the  projects  of  aggran- 
dizement which  that  ally  had  evidently  formed.  The  kings  of  Bada- 
joz  and  Saragossa  became  tributaries  to  the  latter;  nay,  if  any 
reliance  is  to  be  placed  on  either  Christian  or  Arabic  historians,  the 
king  of  Seville  himself  was  subjected  to  the  same  humiliation. 
Against  the  Christians  these  princes  sought  an  ally  in  the  person  of 
Yussel  ben  Taxfin,  the  African  conqueror  who,  after  subjugating 
Fez,  became  the  first  emir  of  the  Almoravides,  now  willingly  joined 
to  defend  Mohammed  Spain  and  set  out  to  attack  Alfonso. 

Alfonso  was  besieging  Saragossa,  which  he  had  every  ex- 
pectation of  reducing,  when  intelligence  reached  him  of  Yussef's 
disembarkation.  He  resolved  to  meet  the  approaching  storm.  At 
the  head  of  all  the  forces  he  could  muster  he  advanced  towards 
Andalusia  and  encountered  Yussef  on  the  plains  of  Zalaca  between 
Badajoz  and  Merida.  The  two  armies  engaged  the  thirteenth  day 
of  the  moon  Regeb,  a.h.  479  (April  17,  1086).  The  onset  of 
Alfonso  at  the  head  of  the  Christian  cavalry  was  so  fierce  that  the 
ranks  of  the  Almoravides  were  thrown  into  confusion;  not  less 
successful  was  Sancho,  king  of  Navarre,  against  the  Andalusians, 
who  retreated  towards  Badajoz.  But  the  troops  of  Seville  kept 
the  field  and  fought  with  desperate  valor:  they  would,  however, 
have  given  way  had  not  Yussef  at  this  critical  moment  advanced 
with  his  reserve  and  his  own  guard,  consisting  of  his  bravest  troops, 
and  assailed  the  Christians  in  the  rear  and  flanks.  This  unex- 
pected movement  decided  the  fortune  of  the  day.  Alfonso  was 
severely  wounded  and  compelled  to  retreat,  but  not  until  nightfall, 
nor  until  he  had  displayed  a  valor  worthy  of  the  greatest  heroes. 
Though   his   own    loss   was   severe,   amounting   according   to   the 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  89 

1086-1091 

Arabians  to  24,000  men,  that  of  the  enemy  could  scarcely  be  in- 
ferior, when  we  consider  that  this  victory  had  no  result:  Yussef 
was  evidently  too  much  weakened  to  profit  by  it. 

<  Not  long  after  the  battle,  Yussef  being  called  to  Africa  by  the 
death  of  a  son,  the  command  of  the  Almoravides  devolved  on  Syr 
ben  Abi  Bekir,  the  ablest  of  his  generals.  That  general  advanced 
northwards,  and  seized  some  insignificant  fortresses;  but  the  ad- 
vantage was  only  temporary,  and  was  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  disasters  of  the  following  year.  The  king  of  Saragossa, 
Abu  Giafar,  had  hoped  that  the  defeat  of  Zalaca  would  prevent  the 
Christians  from  attacking  him;  but  that  of  his  allies,  the  Moham- 
medan princes,  in  the  neighborhood,  and  the  taking  of  Huesca  by 
the  king  of  Navarre,  convinced  him  how  fallacious  was  his  fancied 
security.  Seeing  that  no  advantage  whatever  had  accrued  from 
his  former  expedition,  Yussef  now  proclaimed  the  Alhiged,  or  holy 
war,  and  invited  all  the  Andalusian  princes  to  join  him.  In  1091 
he  landed  a  third  time  at  Algeziras,  not  so  much  with  the  view 
of  humbling  the  Christian  king  as  of  executing  the  perfidious  de- 
sign he  had  so  long  formed,  for  he  openly  threw  off  the  mask  and 
began  his  career  of  spoliation. 

The  king  of  Granada,  Abdalla  ben  Balkin,  was  the  first  victim 
to  African  perfidy.  In  the  conviction  that  he  must  be  overwhelmed 
if  resistance  were  offered,  he  left  his  city  to  welcome  Yussef.  His 
submission  was  vain :  he  was  instantly  loaded  with  chains,  and  with 
his  family  sent  to  Agmat.  Timur  ben  Balkin,  brother  of  Abdalla, 
was  in  the  same  violent  manner  despoiled  of  Malaga.  Mohammed 
now  perceived  the  grievous  error  which  he  had  committed,  and  the 
prudent  foresight  of  his  son  Al  Raxid.  It  seemed  as  if  fate  had 
indeed  resolved  that  this  well-meaning  but  misguided  prince  should 
fall  by  his  own  obstinacy,  for  though  his  son  advised  him  to  seek 
the  alliance  of  Alfonso,  he  refused  to  do  so  until  that  alliance  could 
no  longer  avail  him.  He  himself  seemed  to  think  that  the  knell  of 
his  departing  greatness  was  about  to  sound ;  and  the  most  melan- 
choly images  were  present  to  his  fancy  even  in  sleep. 

But  if  Mohammed  was  superstitious, — if  he  felt  that  fate  had 
doomed  him.  and  that  resistance  would  be  useless, — he  resolved 
not  to  fall  ignobly.  His  defense  was  indeed  heroic,  but  it  was  vain, 
even  though  Alfonso  sent  him  an  aid  of  20,000  men:  his  cities 
fell  one  by  one:  Seville  was  constrained  to  capitulate;  he  and  his 
family    were    tluTjwn    into    prison    until    a    ship   was   prepared    to 


90  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 


1093 


convey  them  into  Africa,  whither  their  perfidious  ally  had  retired 
some  weeks  before.  His  conduct  in  this  melancholy  reverse  of 
fortune  is  represented  as  truly  great. 

After  the  fall  of  Mohammed  the  general  of  Yussef  had  little 
difficulty  in  subduing  the  remaining  princes  of  Andalusia.  Valencia 
next  received  the  African  yoke.  The  king  of  Saragossa  was  more 
fortunate.  He  sent  ambassadors  to  Yussef  bearing  rich  presents 
and  proposing  an  alliance  with  a  common  league  against  the 
Christians.  Yussef  accepted  the  proposal ;  a  treaty  of  alliance  was 
made ;  and  the  army  of  Abu  Giafar  was  reinforced  by  a  considerable 
body  of  Almoravides  (1093),  with  whom  he  repelled  an  invasion 
of  Sancho,  king  of  Aragon.  A  third  division  of  the  Africans, 
which  marched  to  destroy  the  sovereignty  of  Algarve  and  Badajoz, 
was  no  less  successful.  Badajoz  capitulated;  but,  in  violation  of 
the  treaty,  the  dethroned  Omar,  with  two  of  his  sons,  was  sur- 
rounded and  assassinated  by  a  body  of  cavalry  as  he  was  un- 
suspiciously journeying  from  the  scene  of  his  past  prosperity  in 
search  of  another  asylum.  A  third  son  was  placed  in  close 
confinement. 

Thus  ended  the  petty  kingdoms  of  Andalusia,  after  a  stormy 
existence  of  about  sixty  years,  and  thus  commenced  the  dynasty  of 
the  Almoravides.  The  name  Almoravides  was  given  by  the 
Spaniards  to  these  Berber  fanatics  as  a  corruption  of  the  i\.rabic 
title  they  had  chosen  for  themselves,  signifying  those  "  bound  to 
the  service  of  God." 

For  some  years  after  the  usurpation  of  Yussef  peace  appears 
to  have  subsisted  in  Spain  between  the  Mohammedans  and  the 
Christians.  Fearing  a  new  irruption  of  Africans,  Alfonso  con- 
tented himself  with  fortifying  Toledo;  and  Yussef  felt  little  inclina- 
tion to  renew  the  war  with  one  whose  prowess  he  had  so  fatally 
experienced.  But  Christian  Spain  w-as,  at  one  moment,  near  the 
brink  of  ruin.  The  passion  for  the  crusades  was  no  less  ardently 
felt  by  the  Spaniards  than  by  other  nations  of  Europe:  thousands 
of  the  best  warriors  were  preparing  to  depart  for  the  Holy  Land, 
as  if  there  was  more  merit  in  contending  with  the  infidels  in  a 
remote  rcgicjn,  for  a  barren  sepulchre,  than  at  home  for  the  dearest 
interests  of  man — for  honor,  patriotism,  and  religion.  Fortunately 
for  Spain,  Pope  Pascal  II.,  in  answer  to  the  representations  of 
Alfonso,  declared  that  the  proper  post  of  every  Spaniard  was  at 
home,  and  there  were  his  true  enemies. 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  91 

1102-1116 

In  1 102  Yussef  visited  his  new  possessions  in  the  Pen- 
insula. At  Cordova,  which  in  imitation  of  the  Omeyas  he  wished 
to  honor  as  the  capital,  he  convoked  his  walis  and  sheiks,  and 
caused  his  second  son  Ali  to  be  proclaimed  heir  of  his  vast  empire. 
The  latter  soon  afterwards  returned  to  Morocco,  where  he  died 
on  the  third  day  of  the  moon  Muharram,  a.h.  500  (1106),  after 
living  one  hundred  Arabian,  or  about  ninety-seven  Christian 
years. 

Ali  was  only  in  his  twenty-third  year  when  he  succeeded  his 
father,  whose  military  talents  he  inherited,  and  whom  he  surpassed 
in  generosity.  The  readiness  with  which  he  pardoned  his  nephew, 
the  son  of  his  elder  brother,  who  aspired  to  the  throne,  made  a 
favorable  impression  on  his  subjects.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to 
visit  Cordova,  to  receive  the  homage  of  the  people :  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  declaration  of  war  against  the  Christians,  the  conduct 
of  which  he  intrusted  to  his  brother  Temim.  Near  Ucles  an  army 
of  Castilians  was  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  infant,  Don  Sancho,  the  son 
of  Alfonso,  slain.  But  the  Christian  hero,  though  sorrowful,  was 
not  dismayed ;  he  raised  new  levies,  strengthened  his  fortifications 
of  Toledo,  and  so  imposed  on  the  misbelievers  that  they  dared  not 
attack  him.  They  obtained,  indeed,  some  temporary  success  in 
Catalonia,  but  this  was  more  than  counterbalanced  by  subsequent  re- 
verses. On  the  death  of  Alfonso,  however,  in  a.  d,  1109,  Ali  again 
entered  Spain  at  the  head  of  100,000  men,  to  prosecute  in  person  the 
war  against  the  Christians.  But  though  he  laid  waste  the  terri- 
tory of  Toledo,  and  invested  that  city,  he  soon  abandoned  the  siege 
in  utter  hopelessness,  devastated  the  country  as  far  as  Madrid  and 
Guadalaxara,  and  destroyed  Talavera.  These  were  poor  results 
from  such  vast  preparations.  In  the  north  the  Christians  were 
more  fortunate.  Under  Alfonso  I.  of  Aragon  they  defeated  and 
slew  Abu  Giafar  in  battle  and  took  Tudela.  With  this  able 
Mohammedan  prince  ended  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  of  Sara- 
gossa.  His  son,  indeed,  Abdelmelic,  surnamed  Amad  Dola,  was 
proclaimed  in  his  place;  but  though  the  young  prince  was  valiant, 
he  was  unable  to  contend  with  liis  formidable  neighbor  of  Aragon. 
His  independence  being  threatened  on  the  one  hand  by  the  Almora- 
vides,  who  appear  to  have  destined  him  to  an  African  fortress,  and 
on  the  other  by  the  king  of  Aragon,  in  11 16  he  entered  int') 
an  alliance  with  the  latter,  as  the  nearer  and  more  dangerous  of 
his  enemies.     In  the  same  vear  Alfonso  defeated  and  slew  Mezdeli, 


92  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1118-1120 

the  wall  of  Granada,  and  seized  on  Lcrida.  A  second  army  sent 
by  AH  had  no  better  success ;  it  was  routed  and  compelled  to  retreat 
by  the  Christian  king,  who  now  openly  expressed  his  resolution  of 
besieging-  Saragossa,  though  the  unfortunate  Amad  Dola  did  not 
deserve  such  treatment  from  an  ally.  In  512  (a.d.  1118)  that 
important  city,  after  a  siege  of  some  months,  fell  into  the  power  of 
the  Christians,  and  the  north  of  Spain  was  forever  freed  from  the 
domination  of  the  Mohammedans,  though  Amad  Dola  was  per- 
mitted to  reign  over  a  diminished  territory  as  the  tributary  of  the 
Aragonese.  The  following  year  the  Aragonian  hero  destroyed 
20,000  of  the  Africans,  who  had  advanced  as  far  as  the  environs 
of  Daroca;  while  another  division  of  the  Almoravides,  under  Ali 
in  person,  was  compelled  to  retreat  before  the  army  of  Leon  and 
Castile. 

At  this  time  (1120)  the  empire  of  the  Almoravides  was 
tottering  to  its  fall.  Even  while  Ali  remained  in  Spain,  an  open 
revolt  of  the  inhabitants,  who  could  not  longer  support  the  excesses 
of  the  barbarian  guard,  showed  him  on  how  precarious  a  basis  his 
empire  was  founded.  They  now  took  righteous  justice  into  their 
own  hands:  they  rose  against  the  Almoravides,  of  whom  they 
massacred  a  considerable  number. 

But  the  cause  which  most  menaced  the  existence  of  Ali's  throne, 
and  which  was  destined  to  change  the  whole  face  of  western  Africa 
and  southern  Spain,  originated,  like  the  power  of  Yussef  ben  Taxfin, 
in  the  deserts  bordering  on  Mount  Atlas.  Mohammed  ben  Abdalla, 
the  son  of  a  lamplighter  in  the  mosque  of  Cordova,  was  dis- 
tinguished for  great  curiosity  and  an  insatiable  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge. After  studying  for  some  years  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
city,  he  journeyed  to  Bagdad,  to  continue  his  studies  under  the 
celebrated  doctors  of  the  capital,  among  them  being  the  heretical 
writer.  Algazali. 

Whether  Mohammed  was  a  fanatic  or  a  knave,  or  composed 
of  a  large  mixture  of  both,  is  not  easy  to  be  determined.  On  his 
return  from  Bagdad  to  Mauritania  he  had  no  wish  to  revisit  his 
native  city,  where  he  could  expect  little  honor:  he  wandered  from 
place  to  place  zealously  preaching  the  doctrines  of  Algazali, 
With  a  friend,  Abdelmumen,  he  traveled  to  Fez,  and  thence  to 
iMorocco,  to  inculcate  the  new  doctrine.  One  day  they  entered  the 
grand  mosque,  and  >\Iohammed  immediately  occupied  the  most 
prominent  seat.     He  was  informed  that  the  place  was  reserved  for 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  93 

1130 

the  imam  and  the  prince  of  the  faithful.  "  The  temples  belong  to 
Allah,  and  to  Allah  alone !  "  was  the  reply  of  the  bold  intruder,  who, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  audience,  repeated  the  whole  chapter  of  the 
Koran  following  that  passage.  In  a  few  moments  AH  entered,  and 
all  rose  to  salute  him,  with  the  exception  of  Mohammed,  who  did 
not  even  deign  to  cast  a  glance  on  the  dreaded  chief  of  a  great 
empire.  When  the  service  was  concluded  he  approached  Ali,  and, 
in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  those  around  him,  said, 
"  Provide  a  remedy  for  the  afflictions  of  thy  people !  one  day  Allah 
will  require  thee  to  account  for  them !  "  The  artful  rebel  was  per- 
mitted to  follow  his  vocation  until  the  excitement  produced  by  his 
fanatic  appeals  to  the  ignorant  populace  was  too  great  to  be  over- 
looked, and  he  was  ordered  to  leave  Morocco.  At  a  short  distance 
from  the  city,  however,  probably  in  its  public  cemetery,  he  built  a 
hut  among  the  graves  as  a  residence  for  himself  and  his  faithful 
Abdelmumen.  As  he  anticipated,  he  was  soon  followed  by  crowds, 
who  venerated  his  prophetic  character,  and  who  listened  with 
pleasure  to  vehement  denunciations  which  fell  with  terrific  effect  on 
their  superiors.  His  tone  now  became  bolder:  he  inveighed 
against  the  impiety  of  the  Almoravides,  who  appear  not  to  have 
been  more  popular  in  Mauritania  than  in  Spain.  Ali  now  ordered 
the  rebel  to  be  secured.  Mohammed,  who  had  timely  notice  of 
the  fate  intended  him,  fled  to  Agmat,  accompanied  by  a  host  of 
proselytes ;  but  finding  that  his  liberty  was  still  in  danger,  he  hastily 
retreated  to  Tinmal  in  the  province  of  Suz.  His  success  in  this 
region  was  so  great  that  he  had  soon  an  army  of  disciples,  all 
devoted  to  his  will,  because  all  believed  in  his  divine  mission.  One 
day,  in  conformity  with  a  preconcerted  plan,  as  he  was  expatiating 
on  ihe  change  to  be  effected  by  the  long-promised  teacher  and 
ruler,  Abdelmumen  and  nine  other  men  arose,  saying:  "  Thou  an- 
nouncest  a  mehedi ;  the  description  applies  only  to  thyself.  Be 
our  mehedi  and  imam ;  we  swear  to  obey  thee !  "  The  Berbers, 
influenced  by  the  example,  in  the  same  manner  arose  and  vowed 
fidelity  even  unto  death.  From  this  moment  he  assumed  the  high 
title  of  mehedi,  and  proclaimed  himself  as  the  founder  of  a  new 
people.  He  instituted  a  regular  government,  confiding  the  ad- 
ministration to  Abdelmumen,  his  minister,  with  nine  associates,  but 
reserving  the  control  to  himself.  Seventy  Berbers  or  Alarabs 
tnrmed  the  council  of  the  new  government.  An  army  of  lo.ooo 
horse,  and  a  far  greater  number  of  foot,  was  speedily  organized, 


94  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1130 

with  which  he  took  the  road  to  AgTnat  just  as  AH  returned  to 
Morocco  from  Spain. 

The  waH  of  Suz,  Abu  Bekir,  was  ordered  to  disperse  the  rebels. 
But  the  appearance  of  the  warrior  prophet  was  so  imposing  that  the 
general  forbore  to  attack  him;  from  his  truly  representing  the 
danger  as  much  more  formidable  than  had  been  apprehended,  a 
considerable  reinforcement  was  dispatched  from  Morocco,  and  the 
whole  army  placed  under  the  command  of  Ibrahim,  brother  of  the 
emperor.  Just  as  the  signal  for  battle  was  given  the  Almoravides 
fled,  whether  through  treachery  or  superstition  is  uncertain;  and 
the  victors,  if  such  they  may  be  called,  reaped  an  ample  harvest  of 
plunder.  A  second  imperial  army  was  vanquished  after  an  obsti- 
nate struggle ;  and  the  proclamations  of  the  mehedi,  who  invited  all 
true  Mussulmans  to  embrace  his  doctrines,  on  the  penalty  of  ever- 
lasting perdition,  added  greatly  to  the  embarrassments  of  Ali.  In 
this  state  of  anxiety  he  recalled  his  brother  Temim  from  Spain, 
whose  military  reputation  stood  deservedly  high.  The  new 
general  advanced  against  the  prophet,  who  had  entrenched  himself 
among  the  strongholds  of  the  Atlas  mountains.  Notwithstanding 
the  superiority  of  the  rebel's  position,  Temim  ordered  his  soldiers 
to  scale  the  mountain.  For  some  hours  they  rapidly  ascended,  but 
before  reaching  the  summit,  confusion  suddenly  seized  their  fore- 
most ranks, — the  effect,  beyond  doubt,  of  their  superstitious  fears, 
■ — rank  fell  back  on  rank  and  great  numbers  were  forced  precipi- 
tately down  the  rocks  and  dashed  to  pieces.  The  Almohades,  for 
such  was  the  name  assumed  by  the  followers  of  Mohammed,  now 
issued  from  their  entrenchments,  and  the  troops  of  Ali  were  a  fourth 
time  defeated. 

Mohammed  resolved  to  renew  the  war  on  the  chief  of  the 
Almoravides  and  to  reduce  the  capital  of  Morocco.  At  his  voice 
40,000  men  took  the  field.  As  he  was  detained  at  Tinmal  by  an 
illness  from  which  he  had  little  hope  of  recovery,  the  white  banner 
was  intrusted  to  the  sheik  Abu  Mohammed  el  Baxir,  one  of  the 
ten  who  were  sent  with  the  army  in  T125.  The  preparations  of 
Ali  were  immense:  100,000  men  were  ranged  round  his  standard. 
They  were  again  defeated,  were  pursued  to  the  very  walls  of  Mo- 
rocco, and  that  capital  invested  with  a  vigor  which  showed  that 
the  Almohades  were  intent  on  its  reduction.  In  the  sorties  made  by 
the  besieged,  success  remained  on  the  side  of  the  assailants,  so  that 
discouragement    seized    on    the    former.     It    is   probable   that   Ali 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  95 

1126-1129 

would  soon  have  been  compelled  to  capitulate  had  not  one  of  his 
inferior  officers,  Abdalla  ben  Humusqui  by  name,  a  native  of  Anda- 
lusia, importuned  him  to  permit  that  officer  to  make  another  sortie 
at  the  head  of  600  chosen  men,  and  had  not  success  attended  the 
daring  action.  The  little  party  returned  with  300  heads  of  the 
enemy,  a  feat  which  proved  that  the  Almohades  were  not  invincible, 
and  which  infused  new  courage  into  the  Almoravides.  In  this 
favorable  disposition  of  mind,  Ali  led  his  troops  against  the  rebels, 
whom  he  completely  routed. 

But  if  the  Almoravides  were  this  time  successful  in  Africa,  in 
Spain  their  affairs  were  growing  daily  worse.  Alfonso  of  Aragon 
not  only  openly  defied  their  force,  but  made  an  insulting  tour 
through  Andalusia,  defeating  all  who  opposed  him,  driving  away 
the  cattle  of  the  fields,  and  laying  waste  the  labors  of  the  husband- 
men. Yet  this  expedition  availed  him  nothing:  the  Muzarabs  of 
Granada,  many  of  whom  joined  his  army,  had  flattered  him  with 
the  hope  of  obtaining  that  city;  but  on  finding  Temim,  who  had 
just  arrived  from  Africa,  drawn  up  under  the  walls  of  the  place, 
he  desisted  from  what  he  considered  a  hopeless  enterprise.  In  the 
year*  1126  Temim  died  at  Granada,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  country  by  Taxfin,  the  son  of  Ali,  who  in  two  suc- 
ceeding engagements  triumphed  over  the  Christians  of  Leon,  but 
derived  no  advantage  from  his  success. 

The  period  was  now  come  when  the  mehedi  again  resolved  to 
try  the  fortune  of  war.  With  30,000  cavalry,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  infantry,  he  hoped  to  wipe  out  the  stain  of  the  last  de- 
feat under  the  walls  of  Morocco.  As  his  illness  still  continued,  he 
confided  the  command  to  his  favorite  disciple,  Abdelmumen,  whom 
he  invested  with  the  dignity  of  imam.  In  1128  the  new  general 
completely  defeated  the  Almoravides,  and  pursued  them  as 
before  to  the  gates  of  Morocco.  But  he  forbore  to  besiege  the 
place,  doubtless  from  a  persuasion  that  his  present  forces  were 
unequal  to  the  enterprise,  and  he  returned  to  Tinmal.  Mohammed 
came  out  to  meet  his  beloved  disciple,  to  whom  he  presented  the  book 
containing  the  tenets  of  his  faith, — a  book  which  he  had  received 
from  the  hands  of  Algazali.  The  fourth  day  he  expired,  which 
was  the  third  of  the  moon  Muharram  a. 11.  524  ( 1 129).  The  chiefs  of 
the  state  were  soon  afterwards  assembled  to  deliberate  on  the  form 
of  government :  a  monarchy  was  chosen,  and  by  their  unanimous 
suffrages  Abdelmumen  was  proclaimed  imam  and  almumenin. 


96  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1129-1145 

Though  Alfonso,  the  king  of  Aragon,  had  fallen  at  the  siege  of 
Fraga,  the  Almoravides  had  met  with  an  equally  valiant  foe  in  his 
son,  Alfonso  Raymond,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile.  Several  of  the 
Andalusian  cities  openly  rebelled,  and  were  not  reduced  to  obedience 
without  incredible  efforts,  and  without  the  exhibition  of  equal  valor 
and  decision  on  the  part  of  Taxfin;  and  after  that  prince  joined  his 
father  to  repel  the  formidable  Abdelmumen,  the  affairs  of  both  suf- 
fered greatly  by  his  absence.  In  1138  the  count  of  Portugal 
triumphed  over  the  Almoravides  on  the  famous  plains  of  Ourique, 
when  his  soldiers  unanimously  hailed  him  as  king.  Finally,  the 
bloody  contentions  which  broke  out  between  the  Andalusians  and 
the  Africans ;  the  struggles  of  each  for  the  fairest  cities  of  Moham- 
medan Spain ;  the  triumph  of  the  former ;  the  expulsion  of  the  latter 
from  most  of  the  places  they  had  so  long  occupied ;  and,  above  all, 
the  victories  of  Abdelmumen  in  Mauritania,  brought  the  proud 
empire  of  the  Almoravides  to  the  very  brink  of  ruin. 

Taxfin  ben  AH  succeeded  in  1142  to  his  father,  who  died 
at  Morocco,  more  from  grief  at  the  declining  state  of  affairs  than 
from  any  other  cause.  His  first  object  was  to  assemble  an  army 
to  strike  another  blow  for  the  defense  of  his  empire.  At  first  he 
was  successful.  Abdelmumen  was  compelled  to  fall  back  on  his 
mountain ;  but  in  a  second  action  Taxfin  was  defeated ;  in  a  third 
he  was  also  compelled  to  retreat.  Being  pursued  into  Tremecen, 
he  made  a  vigorous  defense,  and  after  a  few  unsuccessful  assaults 
Abdelmumen,  leaving  a  considerable  force  to  continue  the  siege, 
turned  his  arms  against  Oran,  the  reduction  of  which  he  hoped 
would  prevent  the  meditated  flight  of  Taxfin  from  Mauritania  into 
Andalusia.  Taking  a  small  but  determined  body  of  horsemen  from 
Tremecen,  Taxfin  pushed  through  the  camp  of  the  Almohades,  and 
threw  himself  into  Oran,  which  was  on  the  point  of  capitulating. 
It  now  held  out  with  renewed  vigor;  but  the  perseverance  of  the 
besiegers  was  not  in  the  least  diminished,  and  AH  saw  that  his  only 
hope  of  safety  lay  in  an  escape  to  Spain.  One  night  he  resolved  to 
make  a  desperate  effort  to  gain  the  ])ort  where  his  vessels  were  still 
riding  at  anchor.  Unfortunately,  either  he  mistook  his  way  or  his 
mule  was  terrified  by  the  roaring  of  the  waves,  for  the  next  morn- 
ing his  mangled  cori)se  was  found  at  the  foot  of  a  precipice  on  the 
beach.  His  head  was  sent  to  Tinmal ;  Oran  capitulated,  and  Abdel- 
mumen entered  it  in  triumph,  early  in  the  moon  Muharram, 
A.ii.  549  (1145)- 


D  O  :\I  I  X  I  O  N     OF     A  F  R  I  C  A  N  S  97 

1145 

But  Morocco,  Fez,  and  some  other  cities  were  yet  in  the  power 
of  the  Almoravides,  who  raised  Ibrahim  Abu  Ishac,  son  of  Taxfin, 
to  the  throne.  The  vindictive  Abdelmumen,  however,  left  them 
httle  time  to  breathe.  Tremecen  he  took  by  assault  and  massacred 
the  inhabitants ;  Fez  he  also  reduced ;  so  that  Morocco  was  now  the 
only  city  which  acknowledged  Ibrahim.  While  Abdelmumen  un- 
dertook to  reduce  it  he  dispatched  his  general,  Abu  Amram,  to 
invade  Andalusia.  Several  of  the  walis,  who,  after  expelling 
the  Almoravides,  began  to  reign  as  petty  sovereigns,  finding  that 
they  w^ere  too  feeble  to  maintain  themselves  in  their  usurped  au- 
thority, declared  for  the  Almohades.  Algeziras,  Gibraltar,  and 
Xeres  opened  their  gates  without  delay;  and  Aben  Cosai,  the  gov- 
ernor of  Algarve,  joined  Abu  Amram  with  all  his  forces.  In  the 
meantime  the  siege  of  Alorocco  was  prosecuted  with  vigor.  The 
inhabitants  were  so  fatally  repulsed  in  a  sortie  that  they  durst  no 
longer  venture  outside  the  walls.  Famine  soon  aided  the  sword : 
the  number  who  died  of  starvation  is  said  to  have  amounted  to 
three-fourths  of  the  whole  population.  Such  a  place  could  not  long 
hold  out,  and  accordingly  it  was  carried  in  the  first  general  assault. 

During  these  memorable  exploits  in  Africa  the  Christians 
were  rapidly  increasing  their  dominions.  Coria,  Mora,  etc.,  were 
in  the  power  of  Alfonso,  styled  the  emperor ;  and  almost  every  con- 
test between  the  two  natural  enemies  had  turned  to  the  advantage 
of  the  Christians.  Both  Christians  and  Africans  now  contended  for 
the  superiority.  While  the  troops  of  Alfonso  reduced  Baeza,  and, 
with  a  Moliammedan  ally,  even  Cordova,  Malaga,  and  Seville  ac- 
knowledged Al)u  Amram.  Calatrava  and  Almeria  next  fell  to  the 
Christian  emperor,  about  the  same  time  that  Lisbon  and  the  neigh- 
boring towns  received  Alfonso  I.,  the  new  sovereign  of  Por- 
tugal. Most  of  these  conquests,  however,  were  subsequently  re- 
co\'ered  by  the  Almohades.  Being  reinforced  by  a  new  army  from 
Africa,  the  latter  pursued  their  successes  with  greater  vigor.  They 
reduced  Cordova,  which  was  held  l)y  an  ally  of  Alfonso,  defeated 
and  forever  paralyzed  the  expiring  efforts  of  the  Almoravides 
and  proclaimed  their  emperor  Abdelmumen  as  sovereign  of  all 
Mohammedan  Spain. 

Thus  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  was  founded  the 
dynasty  of  the  Almohades,  or  "  worshipers  of  one  God,"  whose 
fortunes  occu])y  the  next  one  hundred  years  of  Spanish  history. 

Abdelmumen,  as  if  desirous  of  subduing,  not  merely  what  had 


98  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1162-1184 

formed  the  empire  of  the  Ahnoravides,  but  all  the  regions  which 
owned  the  faith  of  Islam,  levied  army  after  army;  so  that  from 
Portugal  to  Tunis  and  Cairwan  his  wild  hordes  spread  devastation 
and  dismay.  To  detail  the  events  of  the  wars  sustained  by  his 
general,  or  his  son,  the  Cid  Yusscf,  in  Andalusia,  would  afford  little 
interest  to  the  reader.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  observe  that,  by  slow 
but  sure  degrees,  the  whole  of  Andalusia  was  incorporated  with  his 
empire.  Once  only  did  he  visit  Spain,  if  remaining  a  few  hours 
at  Gibraltar  can  deserve  the  name.  In  1161,  however,  on  hear- 
ing of  the  dissensions  existing  among  the  Christian  princes  after 
the  death  of  the  emperor  Alfonso,  he  declared  his  determination  of 
subduing  all  Spain  in  person.  But  an  enemy,  against  which  not  all 
his  armies  could  avail  him,  now  assailed  him:  on  the  8th  day  of 
Jumadi  II.,  a. 11.  558  (1162),  he  breathed  his  last.  He  had  always 
designed  his  son  Cid  jMohammed  for  his  successor;  but,  from  some 
dissatisfaction  with  the  conduct  of  that  prince,  he  changed  his  will, 
six  days  before  his  death,  in  favor  of  his  son  Yussef,  whose  talents 
he  had  long  learned  to  appreciate. 

On  his  accession  Yussef  Abu  Yacub  dismissed  the  army  which 
lay  at  Suli.  During  the  following  few  years  he  appears  to  have 
cultivated  the  blessings  of  peace;  it  was  not  until  11 70  that  he  en- 
tered Spain,  for  the  first  time  since  his  elevation,  when  all  Moham- 
medan Spain  owned  the  emperor. 

Notwithstanding  the  destructive  w-ars  which  had  prevailed 
near  a  century,  neither  Moors  nor  Christians  had  acquired  much 
advantage  by  them.  From  the  reduction  of  Saragossa  to  the  pres- 
ent time  the  victory,  indeed,  had  generally  declared  for  the 
Christians :  but  their  conquests,  with  the  exception  of  Lisbon  and  a 
few  fortresses  in  central  Spain,  were  lost  almost  as  soon  as  gained ; 
and  the  same  fate  attended  the  equally  transient  successes  of  the 
Mohammedans.  The  Christians,  when  at  peace  among  themselves, 
were  always  too  many  for  their  ^Mohammedan  neighbors,  even 
when  the  latter  were  aided  by  tlie  whole  power  of  western  Africa. 

In  1 176  the  king  of  Castile  reduced  Caenza  and  the  Moors 
were  defeated  before  Toledo.  The  following  year  the  Portuguese 
were  no  less  successful  before  Abrantes,  which  the  Africans  had 
besieged.  These  disasters  roused  the  wrath  of  Yussef;  but  as  an 
obscure  rebellion  required  his  presence  at  that  time  in  Mauritania, 
he  did  not  land  in  Spain  until  1184.  He  marched  without 
delay  against   Santarem,   which  his  soldiers  had   vainly  besieged 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  99 

1184-1195 

some  years  before.  By  misdirection  of  his  force  Yussef  had  un- 
fortunately, for  the  time,  been  left  alone  with  his  guard,  whom  the 
Christians  had  fallen  upon,  while  he  defended  himself  like  a  hero: 
six  of  the  advancing  assailants  he  laid  low  before  the  same  fate 
was  inflicted  on  himself.  The  merciless  carnage  of  the  Christians 
spared  not  even  his  female  attendants.  At  this  moment  two  com- 
panies of  cavalry  arrived,  and,  finding  their  monarch  dying, 
furiously  charged  the  Christians,  whom  they  soon  put  to  flight.  In 
a  few  hours  the  whole  army  returned,  and,  inspired  with  the  same 
hope  of  vengeance,  they  stormed  and  took  the  place  and  put  every 
living  creature  to  the  sword. 

Yacub  ben  Yussef,  from  his  victories  afterwards  named 
Almansor,  who  was  then  in  Spain,  was  immediately  declared  suc- 
cessor to  his  father.  For  some  years  he  was  not  personally  opposed 
to  the  Christians,  though  his  walis  carried  on  a  desultory  indecisive 
war.  He  was  long  detained  in  Africa,  first  in  quelling  some  do- 
mestic commotions  and  afterwards  by  severe  illness.  He  was 
scarcely  recovered  when  the  intelligence  that  the  Christians  were 
making  insulting  irruptions  to  the  very  outworks  of  Algeziras 
made  him  resolve  upon  punishing  their  audacity.  His  preparations 
were  of  the  most  formidable  description.  In  1 194  he  landed  in 
Andalusia,  and  proceeded  towards  Valencia,  where  the  Christian 
army  then  lay.  Tliere  Alfonso  VIII.,  king  of  Castile,  was  await- 
ing the  expected  reinforcements  from  his  allies,  the  kings  of  Leon 
and  Navarre.  Both  armies  pitched  their  tents  on  the  plains  of 
Alarcon.  Yacub  drew  up  the  plan  for  the  battle:  the  Almohades 
and  Andalusians  were  to  lead  the  attack ;  the  Berber  troops  and  the 
volunteers  were  to  sustain  it ;  the  third  division,  containing  the 
royal  guard  and  the  negroes,  commanded  by  the  king  in  person, 
were  to  take  a  circuit,  and  during  the  action  fall  on  the  flanks  of 
the  enemy.  The  result  was  fatal  to  the  Castilian  army,  which,  dis- 
couraged at  what  it  considered  a  new  enemy,  gave  way  in  every 
direction.  Alfonso,  preferring  an  honorable  death  to  the  shame 
of  defeat,  prepared  to  plunge  into  the  lieart  of  the  Mohammedan 
squadrons,  when  his  nobles  surrounded  him  and  forced  him  from 
the  field.  Alfonso  retreated  to  Toledo  just  as  the  king  of  Leon 
arrived  with  tlie  promised  reinforcement.  The  latter  naturally  up- 
braided him  for  his  rashness ;  but.  fortunately  for  the  interests  of 
Christianity  and  of  Spain,  a  timely  interference  brought  about  a 
rcc(jnciliation  between  the  two  princes:   Alfonso  even  consented  to 


100  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1198 

l)estow  the  hand  of  his  daughter  Berengaria  on  the  king  of  Leon. 
From  this  marriage  a  prince  was  born  (St.  Fernando),  who  united 
the  two  crowns.  After  this  signal  victory  Yacub  rapidly  reduced 
Calatrava,  Guadalaxara,  Madrid  and  Esalona,  Salamanca,  etc. 
Toledo,  too,  he  invested,  but  in  vain.  He  returned  to  Africa,  caused 
his  son  Mohammed  to  be  declared  wali  alhadi,  and  died,  the  22d 
day  of  the  moon  Regeb,  a.ii.  595  (November  2,  1198).  He  was, 
l)eyond  doubt,  the  greatest  and  best  of  the  Almohades. 

The  character  of  Mohammed  Abu  Abdalla,  surnamed  Alnassir, 
was  very  different  from  that  of  his  great  father.  Absorbed  in 
effeminate  pleasures,  he  paid  little  attention  to  the  internal  adminis- 
tration of  his  empire  or  to  the  welfare  of  his  people.  Yet  he  was 
not  insensible  to  martial  fame,  and  he  prepared  to  punish  the  au- 
dacity of  Alfonso  of  Castile,  who  made  destructive  inroads  into 
Andalusia. 

Mohammed  opened  the  campaign  of  121 1  by  the  siege  of 
Salvatierra,  a  strong  but  not  important  fortress  of  Estremadura, 
defended  by  the  knights  of  Calatrava.  The  place  stood  out  for 
several  months,  and  did  not  surrender  until  the  emperor  had  sus- 
tained a  heavy  loss.  By  suspending  the  execution  of  his  great 
design  until  the  following  season  he  allowed  Alfonso  time  to  pre- 
pare for  the  contest.  The  following  June  the  kings  of  Leon  and 
Castile  having  assembled  at  Toledo,  and  been  joined  by  a  consider- 
able number  of  foreign  volunteers,  the  Christian  army  advanced 
towards  the  south.  That  of  the  inlidels  lay  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Baeza,  and  extended  to  the  Sierra  Morena.  As  the  former  passed, 
the  strong  fortresses  of  Malagon  and  Calatrava  were  wrested  from 
the  Mohammedans,  conquests  which  more  than  counterbalanced 
the  loss  of  Salvatierra.  But  here  a  misfortune  befell  the  Christian 
cause  which  damped  the  ardor  of  its  supporters.  The  foreign  vol- 
unteers, after  the  capitulation  of  the  latter  fortress,  declared  their 
resolution  to  return  home;  and  return  they  did,  in  opposition  to  tlic 
entreaties  of  Alfonso  and  his  ally  of  Aragon.  This  loss  of  near 
30,000  men  greatly  weakened  the  crusaders;  but  the  seasonable 
though  tardy  arrival  of  Don  Sancho,  king  of  Aragon,  w^ith  a  con- 
siderable reinforcement,  raised  their  ccjurage. 

On  July  12  the  crusaders  reached  the  mountainous  chain 
which  divides  New  Castile  from  Andalusia.  They  found  not  only 
the  passes,  but  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  occupied  by  the 
Almohades.      To  force  a  passage  was  impressible,  and  they  even 


►J 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  101 

1212-1223 

deliberated  on  retreating,  so  as  to  draw  out,  if  possible,  the  enemy 
from  positions  so  formidable,  when  a  shepherd  entered  the  camp 
of  Alfonso  and  proposed  to  conduct  the  Christian  army,  by  a  path 
unknown  to  both  armies,  to  the  summit  of  this  elevated  chain, — by 
a  path,  too,  which  would  be  invisible  to  the  enemy's  outposts.  A 
few  companies  having  accompanied  the  man,  and  found  him  equally 
faithful  and  well  informed,  the  whole  army  silently  ascended  and 
entrenched  themselves  on  the  summit,  the  level  of  which  was  exten- 
sive enough  to  contain  them  all.  Below  appeared  the  widespread 
tents  of  the  Moslems,  whose  surprise  was  great  on  perceiving  the 
heights  thus  occupied  by  the  crusaders.  For  two  days  the  latter, 
whose  fatigues  had  been  harassing,  kept  their  position ;  but  on  the 
third  day  they  descended  into  the  plains  of  Tolosa,  which  were 
about  to  be  immortalized  by  their  valor.  Their  right  wing  was  led 
by  the  king  of  Navarre,  their  left  by  the  king  of  Aragon,  while 
Alfonso  took  his  station  in  the  center.  Mohp.mmed  had  drawn  up 
his  army  in  a  similar  manner,  but  with  a  strcng  body  of  reserves 
he  occupied  an  elevation  well  defended  besides  by  vast  iron  chains, 
which  surr(3unded  his  impenetrable  guard.  The  attack  was  made 
by  the  Christian  center  against  that  of  the  Mohammedans,  and  im- 
mediately the  two  wings  moved  against  those  of  the  enemy.  The 
struggle  was  terrific  but  short ;  myriads  of  the  barbarians  fell ;  the 
boundary  was  first  broken  down  by  the  king  of  Navarre ;  the  Cas- 
tilians  and  Aragonese  followed ;  all  opponents  were  massacred  or 
fled.  The  carnage  of  the  latter  was  dreadful,  until  darkness  put 
an  end  to  it.  The  victors  now  occupied  the  tents  of  the  Mohamme- 
dans. The  loss  of  the  Africans,  even  according  to  the  Arabian 
writers,  who  admit  that  the  center  was  wholly  destroyed,  could  not 
fall  short  of  160,000  men. 

The  reduction  of  several  towns  from  Tolosa  to  Baeza  imme- 
diately followed  this  glorious  victory, — a  victory  in  which  Don 
Alfonso  nobly  redeemed  his  failure  in  the  field  of  Zalaca,  and  which, 
in  its  immediate  conse([uences,  involved  the  ruin  of  tlie  Mohamme- 
dan empire  in  Spain.  Mohammed  did  not  long  survive  his  disaster. 
Having  precipitately  fled  to  IMorocco,  he  abandoned  himself  to 
licentious  i)]easurcs.  left  the  cares  of  government  to  his  son,  or 
rather  his  ministers,  and  died,  not  without  suspicion  of  poison. 

The  reign  of  Yussef  Abu  Yacub,  who  was  only  eleven  years  of 
age  on  the  death  of  his  father,  was  a  scene  of  continued  troubles. 
His   death    without   issue,    in    1223,    was   the   signal    for   troubles. 


102  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1224-1231 

Abul  Melic  Abdelwahid,  brother  of  Mohammed  Anasir,  succeeded 
to  the  disputed  inheritance;  but  in  eight  months  the  very  sheiks 
who  had  elected  him  deprived  him  at  once  of  empire  and  of  Hfe, 
in  favor  of  Abdallah  Abu  Mohammed,  surnamed  Aladel,  governor 
of  Valencia  and  Murcia,  who  had  assumed  the  regal  title.  This 
prince  never  left  Spain:  indeed  he  was  too  busily  occupied  in  de- 
fending his  states  against  Ferdinand  III.,  king  of  Leon  and  heir 
to  the  crown  of  Castile,  to  think  of  abandoning  the  country.  A 
conspiracy  was  formed  against  him,  and  he  was  strangled  in  his 
bed  in  1225. 

Almamun  Abu  Ali,  brother  of  Aladel,  was  next  proclaimed 
king  of  Mauritania  and  Spain.  He,  too,  by  his  projected  reforms, 
made  as  many  enemies  as  there  were  walis.  Of  these  enemies, 
however,  the  most  vindictive  were  the  members  of  the  two  councils 
which  had  been  instituted  by  the  mehedi,  and  the  powers  of  which 
he  openly  declared  his  resolution  of  modifying.  To  avert  the 
threatened  storm,  that  body  immediately  proclaimed  Yahia  ben 
Anasir  prince  of  the  faithful,  and  supplied  him  with  troops  to  in- 
vade Andalusia  and  to  expel  Almamun.  Near  the  city  of  Sidonia, 
Almamun  triumphed  over  his  rival,  and  from  that  moment  openly 
vowed  the  destruction  of  the  senate  at  Morocco.  He,  therefore, 
hastened  thither,  and  with  such  expedition  and  secrecy  that  he  ar- 
rived there  before  the  news  of  his  departure  from  Andalusia.  He 
instantly  assembled  the  sheiks  who  formed  the  two  councils,  and, 
after  upbraiding  them  for  their  disloyalty,  ordered  them  to  be  be- 
headed in  the  courtyard  of  his  palace. 

But  if  Almamun  thus  triumphed  in  Africa,  his  affairs  wore  a 
different  aspect  in  Spain,  which  was  now  to  continue  the  prey  of 
revolt  until  most  of  the  territories  still  owning  the  Mohammedan 
power  were  subjugated  by  the  Christians.  In  Andalusia  there  was 
a  sheik  descended  from  the  kings  of  Saragossa,  Abu  Abdalla 
Mohammed  ben  Hud  by  name,  who  formed  the  design  of  rescuing 
the  country  from  the  now  feeble  because  divided  grasp  of  the  Almo- 
hades,  and  of  founding  for  himself  a  new  kingdom.  Aben  Hud, 
however,  had  other  competitors.  One  Jomail  ben  Zeyan,  an  Anda- 
lusian  chief,  rescued  Valencia  from  the  Almohades,  and  proclaimed 
himself  independent.  But  that  independence  was  to  be  of  short 
duration ;  for  not  only  was  the  usurper  threatened  by  Aben  Hud. 
but  by  Ferdinand,  who  had  united  the  crowns  of  Leon  and  Castile, 
and  by  King  Jayme  of  Aragon,  surnamed  the  Conqueror,  who  had 


DOMINION     OF     AFRICANS  103 

1231-1233 

long  resolved  on  the  subjugation  of  Valencia.  The  last  named 
sovereign  began  his  career  of  victory  by  reducing  the  Balearic  Isles, 
wliich  he  rescued  from  the  yoke  of  the  Almohades.  The  empire 
of  these  Africans  in  the  Peninsula  was  now  to  end.  While  King 
Jayme  was  threatening  Valencia,  Aben  Hud  was  acknowledged  by 
Granada,  Merida,  Seville,  and  soon  after  by  all  Andalusia.  These 
disasters  hastened  the  death  of  Almamun  in  1231. 

In  this  deplorable  situation  of  Mohammedan  Spain,  when  the 
various  states  were  threatened  by  the  Christian  princes,  and  when 
help  from  Africa  could  no  longer  be  expected,  the  followers  of  the 
prophet  cast  their  eyes  on  Aben  Alhamar,  who  alone  was  able  to 
secure  them  in  their  possessions ;  nay,  who  alone  could  prevent  their 
expulsion  from  the  Peninsula.  After  the  surrender  of  Valencia, 
though  King  Jayme  allowed  perfect  freedom  of  conscience  and  a 
reasonable  portion  of  liberty  to  all  who  chose  to  remain,  50,000 
Mussulmans  bade  adieu  to  the  fertile  plains  of  that  province,  and 
flocked  to  the  cities  which  ov/ned  the  sway  of  Mohammed.  The 
latter  fixed  his  court  in  Granada,  resolved,  if  possible,  to  extend  or 
at  the  worst  to  preserve  his  new  states  against  the  independent  walls 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  Christians  on  the  other.  Our  attention  is 
now  called  to  the  only  Mohammedan  state  which  survived  the  wreck 
of  the  African  empire,  to  one  which,  during  more  than  two  cen- 
turies and  a  half,  withstood  the  hostile  attacks  of  its  Christian 
neighbors,  and  which  fell  only  when  all  Christian  Spain  became 
united  under  one  scepter,  and  consequently  irresistible. 


Chapter   VIII 

KINGDOM  OF  GRANADA.   1238-1492 

MOHAALMKD  BEN  ALHAMAR,  the  founder  of  a  cele- 
brated king-doni,  had  quahties  of  a  high  order.  Intrepid 
in  war,  yet  averse  to  engage  in  it  unless  necessity  de- 
manded ;  vigorous  in  his  internal  administration,  yet  mild  and  con- 
ciliating; possessed  of  great  foresight,  and  therefore  seldom  sur- 
prised by  the  ordinary  chances  of  human  affairs;  prudent  in  his 
measures,  comprehensive  in  his  views,  and  magnificent  in  his  habits ; 
fond  of  power,  but  fonder  still  of  popularity,  he  was  excellently 
adapted  to  rule  over  a  people  like  the  Andalusians. 

Scarcely  had  this  prince  taken  possession  of  his  nev/  states 
than  he  i^repared  for  wars  which  he  well  saw  were  inevitable.  He 
repaired  the  frontier  fortresses  of  his  little  kingdom,  which  ex- 
tended from  Algeziras  to  beyond  Almeria  on  the  coast,  and  inwards 
as  far  as  Jacn  and  Iluescar ;  and,  to  be  provided  against  tlie  v/orst, 
he  at  the  same  time  fortified  his  capital  of  Granada. 

The  [)reparations  of  Aben  Alhamar  were  amply  justified  by  the 
sequel  of  events.  The  marriage  of  St.  Ferdinand  with  a  hTench 
princess  had  for  a  whole  year  suspended  hostilities  in  that  quarter; 
but  now,  when  the  marriage  fetes  were  concluded,  that  saintly 
monarch  reappeared  in  armor.  In  a.  11.  637  (a.d.  1240),  and  the 
following  year,  his  generals  reduced  Arjona  and  some  other  for- 
tresses, while  the  king  of  Aragon  seized  on  Villena  and  Xativa. 
But  Ferdinand  meditated  a  more  important  conquest.  A\'ell  know- 
ing the  distracted  state  of  Murcia,  he  sent  his  son  Alfonso  to  reduce 
one  by  one  the  walis  of  that  province.  This  expedition  was  at- 
tended with  complete  success,  the  w:di  of  Lorca  alone,  Azis  ben  Ab- 
dclmelic,  refusing  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Castile.  The 
rest  Ijecame  the  vassals  of  Ferdinand.  Azis,  however,  soon  after- 
wards lost  his  life  in  opposing  Jomail,  the  deposed  sovereign  of 
Valencia,  who  longed  to  ha\'e  at  least  a  shadow  of  rovalty.  and  who 
usurped  the  sovereignty  of  Lorca  and  Carthagcna.      The  following 


GRANADA  105 

1245-1246 

year  the  usurper  was  dispossessed  of  these  places  by  the  victorious 
Alfonso  and  forced  to  retire  into  private  Hfe. 

But  these  conquests,  important  as  they  were,  were  soon  to  be 
ecHpsed  by  others.  Aben  Alhamar  had  ventured  to  oppose  the 
irruptions  of  Prince  Alfonso  into  his  states,  and  he  was  therefore 
marked  out  for  the  vengeance  of  the  Castilians.  The  city  of  Jaen, 
the  bulwark  of  the  new  kingdom,  was  invested  by  Ferdinand  in 
person.  While  prosecuting  the  siege  with  a  constancy  which 
showed  that  he  was  resolute  on  bringing  it  to  a  successful  issue, 
detachments  from  his  army  reduced  Illora  and  Alcala  Real.  The 
]\Ioorish  king  now  tried  whether  better  fortune  might  not  attend 
him  in  open  campaign ;  but  his  signal  defeat  by  the  Castilian 
monarch  in  1245  taught  him  to  respect  the  valor  of  his  enemies. 
Still  the  place  held  out  during  the  whole  of  the  succeeding  winter, 
when  Ferdinand  again  joined  the  besieging  army,  and  declared  that 
he  would  not  move  from  the  walls  until  it  owned  his  sway.  Aben 
Alhamar  perceiving  that  its  fall  was  inevitable,  proceeded  alone  to 
the  camp  of  the  monarch,  obtained  an  interview  with  him,  an- 
nounced his  name,  offered  to  become  the  vassal  of  the  Castilian 
crown,  and  kissed  the  king's  hand  in  token  of  homage.  Ferdinand 
was  not  to  be  outdone  in  generosity :  he  embraced  Mohammed, 
whom  he  called  his  dear  friend  and  ally,  and  whom  he  thanked  for 
so  signal  a  proof  of  confidence.  The  two  kings  soon  agreed  as 
to  their  immediate  policy.  Jaen  was  surrendered,  an  annual  tribute 
was  promised,  with  a  certain  number  of  horsemen  whenever  the 
king  of  Castile  went  to  war:  the  king  of  Granada,  too,  like  other 
feudatories,  was  to  attend  the  Cortes  of  the  Christian  kingdom.  In 
return,  Aben  iVlhamar  was  guaranteed  in  his  remaining  possessions 
and  treated  with  the  highest  distinction  by  his  new  friend.  This 
proceeding  of  the  Moorish  king  was  as  necessary  as  it  was  painful. 
Had  he  delayed  it  much  longer,  his  infant  state  would  have  been 
overrun  by  the  powerful  Castilian  and  he  himself  either  driven 
into  exile  or  ccjndemned  to  a  private  station. 

But  if  Aben  Alluunar  had  thus  succeeded  in  purchasing  peace, 
it  was  a  sacrifice  much  greater  than  that  even  of  personal  independ- 
ence. Tlie  Mussulmans  were  his  brethren  ;  yet  in  his  quality  of 
vassal  to  King  Ferdinand  he  was  compelled  to  draw  the  sword 
against  them,  and  thereby  to  increase  the  power  of  the  most  formid- 
able enemy  of  Ins  faith.  Not  many  months  had  elapsed  after  his 
treat v  with  the  Christians    before  he  was  summoned,  according  to 


106  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1246-1248 

its  tenor,  to  inarch  to  the  camp  of  Ferdinand  with  a  body  of  500 
horse  to  aid  in  the  meditated  conquest  of  Seville.  He  obeyed  the 
summons,  and  on  his  reaching  the  camp  of  his  liege  lord,  who  was 
waiting  for  him,  the  campaign  opened.  After  reducing  several 
strong  places  the  important  city  of  Carmona  was  invested.  It  was 
at  first  defended  by  its  wali  AIduI  Hassan,  nephew  of  the  Cid  Abu 
Abdalla,  prince  of  the  Almohades,  who  reigned  at  Seville.  But 
Abul  Hassan,  perceiving  that  the  ulterior  object  of  Ferdinand  was 
Seville  itself,  left  the  defense  of  Carmona  to  one  of  his  lieutenants 
and  hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his  aged  uncle.  The  inhabitants, 
who  had  agreed  to  surrender,  if  not  relieved  within  six  months,  in 
consternation  at  the  ruin  of  their  fields,  and  the  other  increasing 
horrors  of  the  war,  at  length  constrained  their  alcade  to  send  their 
submission  to  the  Castilian  king,  who  took  possession  of  the  place 
in  1246.  All  the  fortresses  on  both  banks  of  the  Guadalquivir,  from 
Jaen  to  the  gates  of  Seville,  either  had  already  submitted  to  the 
Christians  or  were  now  subdued  by  them.  For  these  successes 
Ferdinand  was  not  a  little  indebted  to  his  royal  ally.  The  standard 
of  Castile  now  floated  on  all  the  great  cities  of  Andalusia  except 
Seville,  the  reduction  of  which  was  the  next  great  enterprise  of  the 
victor. 

The  Christian  king  had  no  sooner  invested  this  great  city  than 
he  perceived  that  so  long  as  the  mouth  of  the  Guadalquivir  was 
open  to  receive  reinforcements  from  Africa  there  was  no  hope  of 
its  reduction.  Having  caused  a  fleet  to  be  constructed  in  the  ports 
of  Biscay,  he  placed  it  under  the  command  of  his  admiral,  Raymond 
Boniface,  who  conducted  it  towards  the  port  of  St.  Lucar,  at  the 
mouth  of  that  river.  The  Moorish  fleet  from  Africa  occupied  the 
station :  the  Christian  admiral  triumphed  over  the  Mohammedans, 
and  advanced  up  towards  Seville,  which  was  now  invested  by  sea 
and  land.  Finally,  after  the  siege  had  continued  fifteen  months, 
when  Ferdinand  had  reinforced  his  army  from  all  parts  of  his 
dominions,  when  the  suburbs  Triana  and  Alfarache  were  occupied 
by  his  troops,  and  the  besieged  consequently  cut  off  from  all  com- 
munication without  their  walls,  and  when  that  worst  of  enemies, 
famine,  began  to  rage  among  them,  they  consented  to  capitulate. 
The  conditions,  which  were  signed  November  23d,  1248,  were  alike 
honorable  to  them  and  to  the  victor.  y\bul  Hassan,  the  brave 
defender  of  the  place,  was  offered  lands  and  riches  if  he  would 
reside  cither  in  Seville  or  any  other  city  dependent  on  Castile.      But 


GRANADA  107 

1248-1252 

the  prince  was  too  proud  to  owe  any  obligation  to  the  Christians ; 
he  embarked  accordingly  for  Africa,  accompanied  by  some  thou- 
sands of  the  inhabitants.  In  December  Ferdinand  made  a  magnifi- 
cent entry  into  this  ancient  and  important  city. 

During  this  memorable  siege  Don  Jayme  of  Aragon  was  no 
less  eager  than  his  brother  of  Castile  to  extend  his  conquests.  He 
finished  the  subjugation  of  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  by  the  reduc- 
tion of  Xativa,  which  had  revolted,  and  some  other  fortresses. 
Whether  weary  of  his  domination,  which,  however,  does  not  appear 
to  have  been  galling,  or  from  hatred  to  Christianity,  or  from  a  wish 
to  support,  by  their  valor,  the  new  kingdom  of  the  south,  most  of 
the  Mohammedans  of  Valencia  bade  an  everlasting  adieu  to  the 
delightful  plains  of  that  province,  and,  like  their  brethren  of  Seville, 
sought  the  hospitality  of  Aben  Alhamar.  In  about  two  years  after- 
wards the  remaining  portion  were  expelled,  after  a  troublesome 
but  fruitless  resistance,  by  the  bigoted  conqueror. 

On  the  capitulation  of  Seville,  Aben  Alhamar  took  leave  of  his 
liege  lord  and  returned  to  Granada,  his  heart  filled  with  sorrow 
at  the  unfortunate  situation  of  Mohammedan  Spain,  especially 
when  he  considered  that  he  himself  had  been  an  instrument,  how- 
ever unwilling,  to  bring  about  the  catastrophe.  As  he  alone  re- 
mained of  all  the  Moslem  power,  so  he  alone  would  be  exposed  to 
the  hostility  of  the  enemy.  But  in  the  worst  conditions  man  is 
seldom  deserted  by  hope.  It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Castile 
would  always  have  princes  so  vigilant  and  able  as  Ferdinand ;  under 
the  successors  of  that  monarch  the  integrity  of  Granada  might  be 
preserved, — perhaps  her  territories  extended.  But  the  Moorish 
king  was  too  wise  a  man  to  place  his  chief  dependence  on  the  future. 
Knowing  that  the  best — indeed  the  only — foundation  of  thrones  is 
the  prosperity  of  the  people,  he  applied  himself,  with  extraordinary 
zeal,  to  the  promotion  of  that  object.  Nor  was  he  less  attentive  to 
the  defense  than  to  the  prosperity  of  his  people.  Besides  the  organ- 
ization and  improved  discipline  of  the  army,  the  kingdom  was  in- 
debted to  him  for  the  erection  of  numerous  fortresses  both  on  the 
frontiers  and  in  the  interior. 

So  long  as  Ferdinand  lived  a  good  understanding  subsisted 
between  him  and  Aben  Alhamar.  Though  the  former  subdued 
most  of  the  towns  between  Seville  and  the  Algarves, — though  he 
even  equipped  a  fleet  to  make  war  on  the  sovereign  of  Morocco, 
and  ^)btaine(l  a  signal  triumph  over  the  Moorish  ships, — he  did  not 


108  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1252-12(r6 

attempt  to  disturb  his  vassal  in  the  new  kingdom.  But  some  time 
after  the  accession  of  Alfonso  el  Sabio,  in  a.h.  650  (a.d.  1252), 
this  good  understanding  gave  way  to  open  hostility. 

After  the  victory  over  Mohammed  the  army  of  Alfonso  pro- 
ceeded to  chastise  the  insurgents  of  Algarve.  In  all  these  places 
success  shone  on  the  banners  of  the  Christians.  In  the  East  the 
king  of  Aragon  triumphed  with  equal  glory.  He  subdued  the 
whole  of  Murcia,  on  which  Alfonso  marched  to  take  possession.  In 
consternation  at  these  disasters,  Aben  Alhamar  sued  for  peace, 
which  the  Castilian  king  readily  granted,  on  conditions  even  more 
favorable  than  the  former  had  a  right  to  expect.  Instead  of  troops 
he  was  allowed  to  pay  an  annual  tribute  to  his  liege  lord;  and  he 
was.  not  bound  to  api)ear  at  any  assembly  of  the  cortes  unless  that 
assembly  were  held  in  a  city  of  Andalusia.  Murcia  was  thence- 
forward to  be  governed  by  a  Mohammedan  prince,  nominated  by 
the  sovereign  of  Castile;  and  the  walis,  who  had  thrown  off  their 
allegiance  to  Mohammed,  were  to  be  urged  to  return  to  their  duty 
by  Alfonso;  in  the  same  manner  the  king  of  Granada  engaged  to 
persuade  the  Murcians  to  become  submissive  subjects.  The  lenity 
of  these  conditions,  which  were  signed  by  the  kings  in  a.h.  664 
(a.d.  1266),  can  only  be  explained  by  the  apprehension  felt  by  the 
victor  lest  Mohammed  should  again  introduce  the  Africans  into 
Spain. 

But  this  peace  was  short  in  its  duration.  Alfonso  found  so 
obvious  an  interest  in  fomenting  the  continued  rebellion  of  the 
walis  that  he  persuaded  them  still  to  hold  out,  and  even  required 
not  only  that  Mohammed  should  not  reduce  them  by  force,  but  that 
he  should  recognize  them  as  independent  governors.  The  indigna- 
tion of  the  Moorish  king  was  unbounded,  and  he  resolved  to  employ 
the  greater  rigor  against  the  daring  rebels.  Accident  favored  his 
design.  The  vain  ambition  of  Alfonso,  who  aspired  to  the  imperial 
crown  of  Germany  and  who,  for  that  unattainable  object,  had 
lavished  immense  sums,  had  greatly  disgusted  his  people.  Taking 
advantage  of  this  general  sentiment,  a  few  factious  nobles,  at  tlie 
head  of  whom  was  Don  Felipe,  the  king's  brother,  revolted  against 
him,  and,  under  the  pretext  of  the  public  good,  each  aspired  to  his 
own  individual  interests.  In  their  guilty  ambition  they  did  not 
scruple  to  apply  to  Moorish  as  well  as  Christian  princes,  to  Aben 
Yussef  of  Morocco  and  Aben  Alhamar  of  Granada,  as  well  as  to 
the  king  of   Xaxarre,   to  bring  the  scourge  of  invasion   on   their 


GRANADA  109 

1272-1273 

country  and  of  profiting  by  the  general  disorder.  These  rebels 
having  been  summoned  to  lay  down  their  arms  by  an  assembly  of 
the  states  at  Burgos,  under  penalty  of  being  severely  punished,  pre- 
ferred exile  to  obedience,  and  sought  refuge  with  the  king  of 
Granada.  They  even  aided  him  in  the  attempt  to  reduce  the  re- 
volted walis,  who  still  defied  the  power  of  Aben  Alhamar.  Thus 
there  was  a  prospect  of  another  African  invasion, — one  which 
might  have  proved  as  fatal  to  Mohammed  and  the  Christians  as  that 
of  the  Almoravides.  The  intelligence  of  this  threatened  calamity 
was  brought  to  Spain  by  the  infante  Don  Enrique,  who,  tired  of  his 
situation  at  the  court  of  Tunis,  and  not  without  just  suspicion  that 
his  life  was  in  danger,  returned  to  his  brother.  He  severely  cen- 
sured the  policy  of  Alfonso,  who,  by  protecting  the  rebellious  walis, 
was  the  indirect  cause  of  this  alliance  between  the  two  Mohamme- 
dan kings.  Alarmed  at  his  situation,  the  Christian  monarch 
empowered  his  brother  to  negotiate,  not  only  with  his  exiled  sub- 
jects, whom  he  now  wished  to  return,  but  with  Aben  Alhamar,  his 
faithless  vassal.  Accordingly  negotiations  commenced :  the  in- 
surgent walis,  aware  of  the  fact,  resolved  to  strike  a  final  blow 
before  either  their  conclusion   or  the  arrival  of  the  Africans. 

In  1272  the  three  walis,  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
army,  entered  the  plains  of  Granada.  Incensed  at  this  insulting 
audacity,  Mohammed  ordered  his  troops  to  assemble,  and,  placing 
himself  at  their  head,  issued  from  the  gates.  The  evening  of  that 
day  the  king  was  seized  by  a  sickness  so  severe  that  he  was  laid  on 
a  litter  and  conveyed  back  towards  the  capital.  But  that  capital 
he  was  to  see  no  more.  So  rapidly  did  the  violence  of  his  disorder 
increase  that  a  pavilion  was  erected  for  him  on  the  plain,  where  in 
a  few  hours  he  expired.  Don  Felipe  and  the  Castilian  nobles  sur- 
rounded his  dying  couch   and  showed  him  proofs  of  sincere  regard. 

Mohammed  II.  followed  successfully  in  the  steps  of  his  able 
father.  On  his  accession  he  made  no  change  in  the  ministry:  he 
had  no  creatures  of  his  own  to  provide  for  by  displacing  the  faithful 
servants  of  the  late  reign.  His  conduct  in  this  respect  procured 
him  the  esteem  of  the  nation, — of  all  1)ut  a  few  ambitious  and  fas- 
tidious men,  who  from  disappointment  first  murmured  and  next 
joined  the  rebels  of  Malaga.  To  reduce  these  daring  outlaws, — 
for  such  they  literally  were, — who  had  occasioned  so  much  trouble 
to  his  father,  was  tlie  first  object  of  the  new  king.  But  though, 
with  the  aid  of  his  Christian  friends,  Don  h^elipe  and  the  other  nobles 


110  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1273-1302 

who  had  fled  from  the  presence  of  Alfonso,  he  utterly  defeated  them 
near  Antequera,  they  had  only  to  throw  themselves  within  the  im- 
pregnable fortifications  of  Malaga  and  set  him  at  defiance. 

The  short  interval  of  tranquillity  which  followed  permitted 
Mohammed  to  carry  on  his  great  design  of  embellishing  his  capi- 
tal. The  palace  of  the  Alhambra,  which  his  father  commenced,  and 
which  by  the  labor  of  succeeding  kings  was  destined  to  become  the 
wonder  of  Spain,  he  greatly  augmented  and  improved.  His 
encouragement,  too,  of  literature  and  the  arts,  the  reception  which 
he  afforded  to  the  learned  of  every  country,  his  magnificent  taste 
and  profuse  liberality,  rendered  Granada  the  favorite  abode  of 
science  and  the  muses,  the  most  cultivated  city  not  of  Spain, 
but  of  Europe. 

The  remaining  portion  of  Mohammed's  reign  offers  little  to 
occupy  our  notice.  In  1295,  availing  himself  of  the  troubles 
consequent  on  the  death  of  Sancho, — and  it  was  only  during  such 
troubles  that  the  Moslems  could  contend  with  their  more  powerful 
neighbors, — he  recovered  the  two  last  conquests  of  Sancho,  and 
soon  afterwards  Algeziras,  from  the  king  of  Morocco.  He  died 
on  the  eighth  day  of  the  moon  Shafan,  a.h.  701  (1301). 

Mohammed  HI.,  Abu  Abdalla,  had  many  of  the  talents,  with- 
out the  good  fortune,  of  his  father.  In  his  reign  began  the  intestine 
wars  which  did  not  end  until  the  scepter  of  Granada  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  dynasty  of  the  Beni  Nassir  to  the  sovereigns  of 
Aragon  and  Castile. 

The  revolt  of  Almeria,  occasioned  by  the  intrigues  of  the  king 
of  Aragon,  now  distracted  his  attention.  These  disasters  were  for 
a  moment  balanced  by  the  conquest  of  Ceuta,  effected  by  his  brother; 
but  in  the  sequel  the  new  conquest,  with  the  fortress  of  Gibraltar, 
fell  into  the  power  of  the  Christians.  Algeziras,  too,  would  have 
submitted  to  the  king  of  Castile, — now  Ferdinand  IV., — had  not 
the  forbearance  of  that  prince  been  purchased  by  the  restoration  of 
Ouesada,  Quadros,  and  Bedmar,  and  by  5,000  pistoles  in  gold.  He 
was  preparing  to  purchase  in  a  similar  manner  the  retreat  of  Don 
Jayme  of  Aragon,  who  had  closely  invested  Almeria,  and  who 
defeated  his  army,  when  he  was  recalled  to  his  capital  by  a  misfor- 
tune still  heavier — a  conspiracy  to  dethrone  him. 

Mohammed  hoped  that  his  return  to  Granada  would  overawe 
the  factious:  it  only  made  them  openly  break  out.  The  populace, 
many  of  whom  were  gained  by  the  money  of  the  chief  conspirators, 


11  ISr.\Xll-M  ArRKSQlF,     ARCH  11  FAl  T  KK-  -T  1 1  K     1.1  ON; 
Al.H  AM  liKA      \T    (IRAN  AH  \ 
1-1,. I, I     ,:     l'!i.'l.;^r,,rl, 


orKT    IN     riiE 


GRANADA  111 

1302-1325 

surrounded  his  palace,  exclaiming,  "  Long  live  Nassir  Abul  Geiox !  " 
— the  name  of  his  brother.  At  the  same  time  another  division  of 
the  mob  proceeded  to  the  house  of  his  hagib,  Abu  Abdalla,  which, 
as  may  be  naturally  expected,  they  plundered  of  everything  valu- 
able, except  the  library:  this  they  committed  to  the  flames.  The 
minister,  however,  was  not  here,  but  in  the  king's  palace.  To  the 
palace  the  wretches  accordingly  repaired ;  and  as  no  adequate  force 
was  brought  to  restrain  them,  they  massacred  the  sentinels,  pene- 
trated into  the  royal  apartments,  and  cut  the  virtuous  hagib  in  pieces 
before  the  eyes  of  the  king.  They  next  plundered  the  royal  resi- 
dence, and  at  length  concluded  by  ordering  the  mild,  weak  monarch 
to  resign  his  throne.  Mohammed  obeyed.  Having  made  a  solemn 
act  of  renunciation,  he  retired  to  Almufiecar,  his  appointed  resi- 
dence, and  his  brother,  Nassir,  was  declared  king. 

By  13 13  Ismail  ben  Ferag,  a  prince  of  the  same  family,  had 
compelled  Nassir  to  resign  the  throne.  Ferag  was  a  rigorous  ob- 
server of  the  external  practices  enjoined  by  the  Koran,  a  brave  sol- 
dier, and  undaunted  in  reverses.  He  had  soon  to  defend  his  frontiers 
against  the  two  regents  of  Castile,  the  princes  Pedro  and  Juan.  In 
spite,  however,  of  his  efforts,  several  fortresses  south  of  the 
Guadalquivir  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Christians,  and  the  disaster 
would  have  been  greater  but  for  the  jealousy  entertained  by  Don 
Juan  towards  his  brother,  whose  bravery  was  the  theme  of  much 
admiration.  The  Moorish  king  failed  in  an  attempt  to  surprise 
Gibraltar.  It  seems,  indeed,  as  if  the  Moors  had  for  a  time  for- 
gotten their  ancient  valor  or  that  they  considered  all  resistance  use- 
less. A  truce  of  four  years  followed,  but  as  it  was  confined  to  the 
frontiers  of  Jaen  and  Cordova,  it  did  not  prevent  the  Moorish  king 
from  obtaining  some  successes  on  the  side  of  Murcia.  These  suc- 
cesses, too  trifling  to  be  particularized,  were  entirely  owing  to  the 
internal  dissensions  of  Castile  after  the  death  of  the  two  regents. 
On  the  expiration  of  the  truce  (1323)  Ismail  again  menaced  the 
southern  frontier  of  his  enemy.  Both  Baza  and  Martos,  which  he 
reduced,  experienced  the  sternness  of  his  character :  in  both  he  caused 
torrents  of  blood  to  flow,  doubtless  because  he  was  exasperated  at 
the  bravery  with  which  both,  though  thinly  garrisoned,  had  with- 
stood his  assaults. 

Ismail  was  assassinated  and  succeeded  by  his  son,  now  Moham- 
med TV.  The  new  king  was  remarkable  for  mild  gravity,  for  mag- 
nificent taste,  and  sound  judgment.     It  appears,  however,  that  he 


112  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1325-1329 

was  not  very  much  addicted  to  public  affairs,  for  he  abandoned 
the  cares  of  government  to  an  ambitious,  tyrannical  minister,  who 
insulted  the  great  and  oppressed  the  people.  This  hagib  was  even 
powerful  enough  to  procure  the  imprisonment  of  one  brother  of  his 
master  and  the  exile  of  another,  and  by  his  haughtiness  of  manner 
he  so  disgusted  Othman,  commander  of  the  troops,  that  the  latter 
raised  the  standard  of  revolt  in  Andalusia,  proclaimed  Mohammed 
ben  Ferag,  uncle  of  the  reigning  king,  and  by  his  emissaries  pre- 
vailed on  the  Christians  to  invade  the  kingdom.  Indignant  at  these 
disasters,  the  Moorish  sovereign  arrested  and  eventually  beheaded 
his  hagib ;  but  it  was  too  late  to  remedy  them.  The  Castilians  seized 
on  Vera,  Olbera,  Pruna,  and  Ayamonte  and  defeated  Mohammed 
in  person,  who  vainly  endeavored  to  arrest  their  progress  or  to 
crush  the  revolt  of  Othman.  A  still  worse  disaster  was  the  ar- 
rival of  a  considerable  African  force  in  aid  of  Othman,  who  be- 
longed to  the  royal  family  of  Fez.  They  defeated  the  general  of 
Mohammed,  took  Algeziras,  ]\Iarbella,  and  Ronda,  and  effected  a 
junction  with  the  chief  of  the  rebels. 

Mohammed  opened  a  campaign  against  the  Christians,  in  which 
he  resolved  either  to  conquer  or  to  bury  himself  under  the  ruins 
of  his  monarchy.  Heaving,  thanks  to  their  civil  troubles,  reduced 
two  fortresses,  he  laid  siege  to  the  more  important  one  of  Baena. 
It  soon  capitulated,  and  in  one  single  campaign  ^Mohammed  was 
fortunate  enough  to  recover  all  the  fortresses  he  had  lost,  and  even 
gained  Gibraltar.  Othman,  too,  returned  to  his  duty  and  was 
pardoned.  The  year  following,  however  (1329),  though  the  last 
place  was  unsuccessfully  besieged  by  King  Alfonso  XL,  Mohammed 
was  signally  defeated  by  the  Castilian  monarch,  and  again  deprived 
of  a  portion  of  the  places  he  had  recovered. 

At  this  time,  owing,  probably,  to  the  reappearance  of  the 
Castilian  king  on  the  field  of  battle,  Mohammed  applied  for  aid 
to  the  king  of  Fez,  and  an  African  army  immediately  passed  the 
Straits.  The  new  ally,  when  unsuspectingly  received  into  Gibral- 
tar, did  not  scruple  to  usurp  the  possession  of  that  important  for- 
tress. Too  weak  to  think  of  revenge,  the  king  of  Granada  could 
only  tamely  acquiesce  in  the  usurpation,  and  the  Moors,  the  most 
perfidious  of  men,  gloried  in  their  prize.  But  perfidy  was  not  the 
only  thing  ^Mohammed  was  to  receive  from  his  worthless  allies. 
While  he  remained  at  Gibraltar  he  could  not  forbear  reproaching 
the  chiefs  who  had,  in  his  opinion  at  least,  so  inadequately  defended 


GRANADA  113 

1332-1340 

the  place,  which,  indeed,  they  had  been  on  the  point  of  surrendering. 
True  to  their  character,  which  is  repugnant  alike  to  faith  or  grati- 
tude, they  vowed  his  destruction.  They  knew  that  he  had  promised 
to  visit  their  sovereign  Abu  Hassan  in  Africa;  that  before  his 
embarkation  he  would  dismiss  his  army,  except  an  escort  of  cavalry, 
and  they  waited  for  the  opportunity  of  executing  their  murderous 
intention.  No  sooner  were  his  troops  on  their  return  to  Granada 
than  assassins  hourly  watched  his  motions.  One  day  (in  1332), 
when  he  left  his  camp  to  enjoy  his  favorite  amusement  of  hunting, 
these  assassins  waylaid  and  killed  him  in  a  narrow  defile,  where  his 
escort  could  not  defend  him.  His  incensed  soldiers  returned  to 
the  camp  with  the  view  of  taking  a  signal  revenge  of  their  base 
allies,  but  the  Africans  shut  the  gates  of  the  fortress  and  from  the 
ramparts  insulted  and  defied  them. 

Yussef  Abul  Hegiag,  who  at  the  time  of  his  brother's  death 
was  returning  from  Gibraltar  with  the  army,  was  immediately 
raised  to  the  throne. 

The  first  care  of  this  prince,  who  was  at  once  the  most 
pacific,  the  most  patriotic,  and  the  most  enlightened  of  the 
Nassir  dynasty  since  the  days  of  its  founder,  was  to  procure  a  truce 
of  four  years  from  King  Alfonso.  This  interval  of  hostilities  he 
employed  in  reforming  the  administration  of  justice,  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  religion  and  morals,  in  the  encouragement  of  the 
mechanical  and  other  useful  arts,  and  in  the  cultivation  of  letters. 
His  wise  and  paternal  sway  recalled  the  halcyon  days  of  the  third 
Abderahman. 

Soon  after  the  termination  of  the  truce,  Alfonso,  having 
reduced  his  domestic  enemies  to  submission,  prepared  for  war : 
Yussef  did  the  same.  The  fate  of  his  brother  did  not  prevent  the 
latter  from  again  seeking  the  alliance  of  the  Africans,  an  army  of 
whom,  about  the  middle  of  the  year  1340,  landed  on  the  coasts  of 
Andalusia.  Orders  had  been  given  to  the  Castilian  admiral  to  inter- 
cept this  armament.  The  consequences  were  fatal  to  the  hopes  of 
Alfonso,  whose  ships  were  almost  all  either  taken  or  sunk.  The 
Castilian  king  had  now  the  mortification  to  see  Andalusia  overrun 
by  African  troops,  and  their  king,  Abul  Hassan,  master  of  the  deep. 
The  news  of  this  victory  was  joyfully  received  at  Granada,  where 
it  roused  the  citizens  to  greater  eagerness  for  war.  Yussef  has- 
tened to  Algeziras  to  greet  his  ally.  Here,  having  agreed  on  the 
])lan  of  the  ensuing  campaign,  they  opened  it  by  the  siege  of  Tarifa, 


114  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1340 

while  detachments  of  their  troops  spread  devastation  to  the  gates 
of  Xeres  and  Sidonia.  The  king  now  perceived  that  the  time  was 
arrived  when  he  must  either  march  to  raise  the  siege  or  submit  to 
see  his  provinces  laid  waste  by  a  merciless  foe.  Accompanied  by 
his  ally,  the  king  of  Portugal,  he  advanced  towards  the  camp  of  the 
besiegers,  which  they  reached  in  October,  a.d  1340,  as  it  lay 
encamped  on  the  little  River  Salado.  Having  thrown  supplies  into 
the  place,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  enemy,  the  two 
Christian  kings  next  agreed  that  while  Alfonso  engaged  the  Afri- 
cans  the  other  should  fall  on  the  troops  of  Yussef. 

On  the  morning  of  the  battle,  the  most  memorable  that  had 
occurred  between  the  two  powers  since  that  which  had  annihilated 
the  force  of  Africa  on  the  plains  of  Tolosa,  Alfonso  having  con- 
fessed and  communicated  from  the  hands  of  the  archbishop  of 
Toledo,  passed  the  river  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and  the  struggle 
began.  That  the  Christians  must  have  performed  prodigies  of 
valor  will  readily  be  believed  when  it  is  considered  that  their  num- 
ber probably  did  not  exceed  a  fourth  part  of  the  enemy's  forces. 
At  midday  the  African  tribes,  exhausted,  by  fatigue  and  dis- 
couraged by  the  severe  loss  they  had  sustained,  began  to  give  way. 
A  seasonable  charge  by  the  garrison  of  Tarifa  accelerated  their 
flight.  A  considerable  number  indeed  returned  to  defend  the  tent 
of  their  king,  which  the  Christians  were  furiously  assailing;  but 
they  were  soon  dissipated  or  added  to  the  slaughtered  heaps  around  ; 
the  royal  pavilion  was  forced,  and  an  immense  plunder,  with  the 
favorite  women  of  Abul  Hassan,  became  the  prize  of  the  victors. 
During  these  momentous  events  Yussef  nobly  maintained  the 
honor  of  the  Andalusian  name  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry,  but  seeing 
the  Africans  fleeing  in  every  direction,  and  being  equally  disheart- 
ened by  the  severity  of  his  own  loss,  he  gave  the  signal  for  his 
troops  to  retreat.  While  Abul  Hassan  fled  precipitately  to  Gib- 
raltar, and  thence  without  delay  into  Africa,  to  sustain  the  com- 
plaints and  murmurs  of  his  people,  Yussef  also  fled  by  sea  to 
Almuhecar,  to  join  with  his  subjects  in  the  universal  mourning 
caused  by  this  disaster.  To  ascertain  the  number  of  the  slain  is 
im])ossible,  but  it  was  doubtless  immense;  scarcely  a  family  in 
Granada  which  had  not  to  mourn  the  loss  of  a  member.  The  sub- 
mission of  several  fortresses  in  the  vicinity  followed  this  almost 
miraculous  victory,  and  the  ensuing  year  the  destruction  of  the 
Mohammedan   fleet   was   effected   by   that   of   the   Christians,    for 


GRANADA  115 

1342-1358 

Alfonso  had  succeeded  in  forming  a  third  from  the  wrecks  of  the 
two  former,  and  from  the  ships  which  arrived  from  Portugal, 
Aragon,  and  Italy. 

In  1342  Alfonso,  who  had  greatly  recruited  his  army, 
having  resolved  to  profit  by  his  successes,  laid  siege  to  Algeziras. 
Yussef  hastened  to  relieve  the  place,  but  without  success.  Defeated 
by  the  Castilian  army,  disappointed  in  the  succor  he  had  expected 
from  Africa,  he  had  no  alternative  but  to  procure  as  favorable  terms 
of  capitulation  as  he  could.  The  garrison  and  inhabitants  were 
permitted  to  retire  with  their  property;  the  fortress  was  imme- 
diately entered  by  the  Christians,  and  a  truce  for  ten  years  was 
granted  to  Yussef,  on  condition,  if  we  may  believe  the  Spanish 
chroniclers,  of  his  doing  homage  to  Alfonso.  Before  the  expiration, 
however,  of  this  period,  the  Castilian  king  invested  Gibraltar,  the 
possession  of  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  command  the  ap- 
proaches into  Andalusia,  and  destroy  the  communication  between 
Spain  and  Africa.  But  a  contagious  disorder  broke  out  among 
his  troops ;  he  himself  became  its  victim,  after  a  siege  of  six 
months,  just  as  the  place  was  reduced  to  extremities,  and  the 
Christians  retired  from  the  fatal  spot.  Though  glad  to  be  rid  of 
so  formidable  a  rival,  Yussef  honored  alike  the  virtues  and  valor 
of  Alfonso,  whom  he  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest  princes 
Spain  had  ever  produced,  and  for  whom  both  he  and  his  court 
appeared  in  mourning. 

Yussef  did  not  long  survive  his  illustrious  contemporary.  In 
1352  he  was  stabbed,  while  at  prayers  in  the  mosque,  by  a  mad- 
man. His  character  has  been  already  described ;  but  it  would  be 
impossible  to  recount  all  the  acts  which  endeared  him  to  his  people. 

Mohammed  V.,  the  eldest  son  of  Yussef,  had  virtues  worthy  of 
any  throne,  but  they  did  not  exempt  him  from  the  curse  of  rebel- 
lion. One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  confer  on  his  brother  Ismail,  to 
whom  he  bore  an  affection  truly  paternal,  a  magnificent  palace  near 
the  Alhambra.  But  the  mother  of  Ismail  had  long  planned  the 
elevation  of  her  son,  and  on  the  assassination  of  Yussef  had  seized 
a  great  portion  of  the  royal  treasures,  with  which  she  labored  to 
form  a  powerful  party. 

But  such  was  the  love  borne  to  Mohammed  and  the  tranquillity 
of  his  reign  that  the  conspirators,  hopeless  of  the  opportunity 
sought,  resolved  to  accomplish  their  purpose  by  open  violence.  On 
the  28th  day  of  the  moon  Ramasan  a. 11.  760  (1358),  one  hundred 


116  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1358-1360 

of  the  most  resolute  among  them  scaled,  one  night,  the  palace  of 
Mohammed,  descended  through  the  roof,  and  lay  hid  until  mid- 
night. On  a  signal  being  given,  they  rushed  down  the  grand  stair- 
case and  along  the  passages, — a  sword  in  one  hand,  a  torch  in  the 
other, — raising  loud  cries  and  putting  to  death  every  individual  they 
met.  At  the  same  moment  a  more  numerous  body  from  without 
overwhelmed  and  massacred  the  guard,  while  a  third  proceeded  to 
the  house  of  the  hagib,  where  they  massacred  him,  his  son,  and 
his  domestics,  and  laid  hands  on  everything  they  could  carry  away. 
Astonished  at  the  ample  treasures  which  they  found  in  the  palace, 
they  forgot  for  a  time  their  original  purpose,  and  eagerly  grasped 
the  spoil.  The  opportunity  was  not  lost:  one  of  Mohammed's 
women  speedily  clad  him  in  the  vestments  of  a  female  slave, 
descended  with  him  to  the  garden,  and  both  succeeded  in  gaining 
the  open  country.  Before  daybreak  he  reached  Guadix,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  received  him  with  affection  and  served  him  with 
fidelity.  Soon  after  sunrise  Abu  Said  and  his  accomplices  placed 
Ismail  on  horseback,  led  him  through  the  streets  of  Granada,  and 
proclaimed  him  Prince  of  the  Faithful.  As  usual,  the  mob  hailed 
the  new  ruler  wnth  deafening  shouts. 

When  the  conspirators  saw  that  Mohammed  had  not  only 
escaped,  but  found  zealous  adherents,  they  endeavored  to  strengthen 
themselves  by  an  alliance  with  Pedro  the  Cruel,  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile,  as  the  condition  of  which  they  offered  the  sovereignty  of 
Granada.  Pedro  readily  accepted  the  condition.  Mohammed  next 
applied  for  his  aid,  and  received  the  same  promises :  he  was  evi- 
dently waiting  to  draw  his  own  advantages  from  both.  The 
dethroned  monarch  next  proceeded  to  Fez  (1359),  and  prevailed  on 
the  king  of  that  place  to  arm  in  his  behalf.  In  the  meantime, 
Ismail  found  his  usurped  throne  surrounded  by  danger  and  diffi- 
culty. Domineered  over  by  Abu  Said,  the  instrument  of  his  eleva- 
tion, the  latter  soon  plotted  to  dethrone  this  phantom  of  a  king. 
He  had  little  difficulty  in  persuading  the  populace  to  surround  the 
palace,  and  demand  not  merely  the  deposition,  but  the  head,  of 
Ismail.  The  impotent  king  fled  to  the  fortress  of  the  Alhambra, 
but  being  induced  to  risk  the  fate  of  a  battle,  he  fell  into  the  hands 
of  his  enemy,  who  caused  him  to  be  assassinated.  The  people  then 
proclaimed  Abu  Said. 

In  1360  IMohammed  disembarked  at  Gibraltar,  followed  by  an 
army  of  Africans,  and  rapidly  advanced  on  Granada.     The  usurper 


GRANADA  117 

1360-1408 

endeavored  to  arrest  his  progress,  but  the  number  of  Africans  was 
so  great  that  his  partisans  dared  not  risk  a  battle. 

The  remainder  of  Mohammed's  life  was  troubled  by  one  un- 
important revolt  only,  which  was  speedily  repressed.  In  the  wars 
between  Pedro  and  Enrique,  in  which  the  latter  triumphed,  he 
furnished  some  thousands  of  troops  to  the  former,  and  on  one 
occasion  at  least  took  a  personal  share  in  the  war,  less  for  the  sake 
of  his  ally  than  to  profit  by  the  dissensions  of  the  Christians,  and 
recover  some  of  the  conquests  lost  by  his  immediate  predecessors. 
He  took  and  ruined  Algeziras,  but  w^as  induced  to  make  peace  with 
King  Enrique.  Having  devoted  his  days  to  the  welfare  of  his 
people,  he  died,  1390,  lamented  by  all. 

Yussef  n.  (Abu  Abdalla)  commenced  his  reign  by  imitating 
alike  his  father's  policy  and  virtues,  by  renewing  the  truce  with, 
perhaps  doing  homage  to,  the  crowm  of  Castle,  and  by  assiduously 
endeavoring  to  promote  the  happiness  of  his  people.  Scarcely, 
however,  was  he  seated  on  his  throne  when  he  narrowly  escaped 
falling  a  victim  to  the  rebellion  of  his  younger  son  Mohammed. 
That  prince,  jealous  of  the  rights  attached  to  the  primogeniture 
of  his  brother,  endeavored  not  only  to  exclude  that  brother,  but  to 
hurl  his  parent  from  the  throne.  The  Moorish  king  did  not  long 
survive  this  event ;  as  he  was  still  young,  his  death  was,  as  usual, 
attributed  to  some  extraordinary  cause. 

No  sooner  had  Yussef  expired  than  Mohammed  VI.,  by  means 
of  his  partisans,  seized  on  the  scepter,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  elder 
brother.  It  does  not  appear  that  Yussef  ben  Yussef  made  any 
attempt  to  enforce  his  rights.  All  his  ambition  was  to  lead  a 
quiet  life,  and  he  probably  felt  little  regret  on  being  exiled  to  the 
fortress  of  Salobrena  with  his  wives  and  domestics.  Mohammed 
had  scarce!}^  retired  to  his  capital  when  he  was  seized  by  an  illness 
which  he  felt  would  be  fatal.  His  end  corresponded  with  his 
stormy  and  unprincipled  life. 

Yussef  III.,  who  had  passed  thirteen  years  in  that  best  of 
schools,  adversity,  became  a  wise  and  paternal  sovereign,  averse  to 
war  abroad  and  cruelty  at  home,  and  placing  his  chief  happiness 
in  tlie  weal  of  his  people.  But  war  he  could  not  at  first  avoid, 
because  he  refused  to  acknowledge  himself  the  vassal  of  Castile. 
Its  issue  by  no  means  corresponded  witli  his  wishes.  If  he  recov- 
ered Zahara,  he  lost  Antequera.  If  he  had  the  glory  of  giving 
a  new  sovereign  to  Fez  in  the  person  of  the  Cid  Abu  Said,  brother 


118  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1414-1429 

to  the  reigning  king  of  that  place,  who  had  sought  his  protection, 
he  was  obhged  to  purchase  peace  from  the  two  formidable  Chris- 
tians. From  this  time  (1414)  to  his  death  that  peace  was  uninter- 
rupted. He  died  in  1423,  and  with  him  ended  the  tranquilhty  of 
his  country. 

Mohammed  (Muley)  VII.  was  sumamed  El  Hayzari,  or 
the  Left-handed, — whether  because  he  really  used  that  hand  in 
preference,  or  on  account  of  his  ill-fortune,  is  uncertain.  Of  a 
haughty  and  overbearing  character,  he  was  little  fitted  to  rule  a 
people  so  turbulent  as  those  of  Granada.  Of  all  the  wise  counsels 
which  he  had  received  from  his  father  he  followed  only  one — the 
preservation  of  peace  with  the  Christians.  Hence  he  became  not 
merely  unpopular,  but  so  odious  that  the  people  would  have  de- 
throned him  soon  after  his  accession  had  not  they  been  restrained 
by  the  prudent  gravity  of  the  hagib  Yussef  ben  Zeragh,  one  of  the 
most  influential  sheiks  of  the  kingdom.  At  length,  when  Mo- 
hammed had  prohibited  some  favorite  public  diversions,  the  spirit 
of  insubordination  broke  out,  the  Alhambra  was  invested,  the  king 
escaped  from  the  city  to  the  court  of  his  kinsman,  the  sovereign  of 
Tunis,  and  his  cousin  Mohammed  el  Zaquir  was  raised  to  the  vacant 
dignity.  But  Mohammed  VIII.  was  not  long  to  enjoy  his  usurped 
power.  Though  he  restored  the  favorite  amusements  of  the  people, 
he  labored  to  annihilate  the  party  of  the  lawful  sovereign,  and  by 
so  doing  created  many  powerful  enemies.  Not  a  few  sought  an 
asylum  at  the  court  of  Don  Juan,  the  young  king  of  Castile,  whom 
they  interested  in  the  cause  of  the  exiled  king.  Juan  wrote  to 
the  king  of  Tunis  in  favor  of  Mohammed,  whose  restoration  he 
promised  to  aid  by  force  of  arms.  This  encouragement  was  not 
thrown  away  on  the  exile.  Accompanied  by  500  African  horse 
he  passed  the  strait,  landed  in  Andalusia,  was  joined  not  only  by 
the  Christians,  but  by  the  very  partisans  of  El  Zaquir,  and  was 
triumphantly  borne  to  the  capital  without  a  single  engagement. 
The  usurper  was  besieged  in  the  Alhambra,  was  surrounded  by 
his  own  soldiers,  and  beheaded,  and  El  Hayzari  was  restored. 

The  web  of  Mohammed's  singular  fate  was  woven  with  the  most 
extraordinary  alternations  of  fate.  Three  times  was  he  dethroned.  A 
respite  of  some  years,  indeed,  was  allowed  him  before  his  final  degra- 
dation— if  that  can  be  called  a  respite,  where  he  could  enjoy  no  peace 
within  or  without.  Every  season  his  kingdom  was  laid  waste  by 
the  Christian  governors  of  the  frontiers,  who,  though  Castile  was 


GRANADA  119 

1445 

again  the  prey  of  civil  dissensions,  were  not  the  less  eager  for  the 
plunder  of  the  Moors.  Their  devastations  reduced  the  peaceable 
inhabitants  to  the  greatest  misery,  A  nephew,  Mohammed  ben 
Osmin,  seeing  the  increasing  unpopularity  of  his  uncle,  took  great 
pains  to  increase  the  animosity  of  the  nobles  and  to  gain  the  pop- 
ulace by  that  never-failing  argument,  gold.  When  his  plans  were 
sufficiently  matured,  he  raised  a  commotion  among  the  people, 
seized  first  on  all  the  forts  of  the  city,  and  soon  on  the  person 
of  Mohammed,  whom  he  consigned  to  a  close  prison.  Thus  did 
this  unfortunate  prince,  in  1445,  disappear  forever  from  the  stage 
of  history. 

Mohammed  IX.  (Ben  Osmin)  was  immediately  proclaimed 
by  his  own  partisans,  but  many  were  hostile  to  his  elevation. 
Abdelbar,  who  had  served  with  much  credit  the  office  of  hagib 
under  the  dethroned  king,  retired  with  a  considerable  number  of 
the  discontented  to  Montefrio.  To  attempt  the  restoration  of  that 
prince,  Abdelbar  knew  would  be  vain,  and  he  turned  his  thoughts 
towards  Mohammed  ben  Ismail,  another  nephew  of  the  previous 
king.  He  wrote  to  that  prince  with  the  offer  of  the  sovereignty, 
but  advised  him  to  keep  the  project  secret  from  the  Castilian 
king,  lest  his  departure  should  be  opposed.  Aben  Ismail,  however, 
preferred  the  more  open  and  honorable  part  of  acquainting  his 
host  with  the  whole  business,  and  Don  Juan,  so  far  from  opposing 
his  departure,  sent  express  orders  to  the  governors  of  the  frontier 
fortresses  to  assist  him  in  his  enterprise.  No  sooner  was  Don 
Juan  able  to  send  a  reinforcement  to  Aben  Ismail  than  that  prince 
marched  against  his  rival,  Ben  Osmin,  whom  he  signally  defeated, 
and  whom  he  pursued  towards  the  capital.  Hitherto  the  martial 
success  of  the  latter  had  maintained  him  in  his  post  in  de- 
fiance of  the  popular  discontent,  but  now  that  victory  had  deserted 
his  standard,  his  former  adherents  left  him.  He  called  the 
citizens  to  arms ;  their  silence  showed  that  his  reign  was  near 
its  end.  Before  his  fall,  however,  he  resolved  to  be  revenged  on 
them.  Under  the  pretext  of  consulting  the  safety  of  the  city, 
he  convoked  the  heads  of  the  people,  sucli  especially  as  he  knew 
were  hostile  to  him,  and  as  tliey  successively  arrived  at  the  AI- 
hambra  tliey  were  seized  and  executed  by  the  soldiers  of 
his  guard.  After  this  exploit,  so  characteristic  of  a  Moorish  prince, 
he  secretly  left  the  place,  plunged  into  the  mountains,  and  forever 
retired  from  public  life. 


120  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1460-1478 

Mohammed  X.,  the  son  of  Ismail,  was  proclaimed  without 
opposition.  His  first  care  was  to  send  ambassadors  and  presents 
to  the  new  king  of  Castile,  Enrique  IV.,  and  solicit  a  renewal  of 
former  treaties.  But  Enrique,  who  had  other  views  than  those  of 
his  predecessor,  instead  of  complying  with  the  request,  entered  the 
kingdom  at  the  head  of  14,000  horse  and  20,000  foot.  This  force 
would  have  annihilated  any  army  which  Aben  Ismail  could  have 
brought  into  the  field,  and  the  Moors  accordingly  retired  before  it, 
sometimes,  however,  sending  detachments  of  cavalry  to  impede 
its  advance  by  harassing  skirmishes.  In  vain  did  Aben  Ismail 
apply  for  a  truce;  the  partisan  warfare  still  raged,  sometimes, 
indeed,  to  the  temporary  triumph  of  his  generals,  but  always 
eventually  to  the  permanent  advantage  of  the  enemy.  In  1460 
Archidona  and  Gibraltar  were  reduced,  and  the  Moorish  troops 
everywhere  defeated.  In  consternation  at  the  gloomy  aspect  of 
affairs,  Aben  Ismail  now  submitted  to  hold  his  tenure  as  a  fief  of 
Castile  and  to  pay  a  tribute  annually  of  12,000  pistoles  in  gold. 
That  this  tribute  was  punctually  paid  until  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened in  1466,  may  be  inferred  from  the  harmony  that  continued  to 
subsist  between  the  two  states. 

Muley  Ali  Abul  Hassan,  the  elder  son  of  the  deceased  king, 
succeeded  to  a  throne  which  required  alike  the  highest  valor  and 
the  ablest  policy  to  maintain  erect.  The  first  three  years  of  his 
reign  were  sufficiently  tranquil,  but  in  1469  the  wall  of  Malaga  not 
only  revolted  against  his  authority,  but  did  homage  for  the  govern- 
ment to  the  king  of  Castile.  The  incensed  Abul  Hassan,  knowing 
that  Enrique  was  occupied  in  quenching  the  flames  of  civil  war, 
made  several  destructive  irruptions  into  the  territories  of  his 
superior ;  but  however  he  might  lay  waste  the  frontier,  he  was 
unable  to  make  any  impression  on  the  compact,  powerful  kingdom 
of  Castile.  Though  in  879  (a.d.  1474)  he  obtained  a  truce  from 
the  new  sovereigns  of  Castile,  Isabella  and  Ferdinand,  who  were 
too  busily  occupied  in  opposing  the  partisans  of  the  Princess  Juana 
to  think  of  extending  their  possessions  in  the  south,  he  had  little 
reason  for  self-congratulation. 

In  1478  the  truce  of  Castile  expired,  and  Abul  Hassan  ap- 
plied for  its  renewal.  The  Christian  sovereigns  at  first  required 
the  usual  condition  of  vassalage  and  tribute,  which,  as  they  were 
still  occupied  in  their  domestic  wars,  he  refused  to  grant :  tliey 
were  then  compelled  to  consent  purely  and  simply  to  the  renewal ; 


GRANADA  121 

1479-1483 

but  they  vowed  vengeance  at  a  future  period,  as  policy,  enlight- 
ened in  that  age,  taught  them  that,  so  long  as  the  Moors  were 
suffered  to  domineer  in  any  portion  of  the  country,  their  subjects 
of  the  frontier  could  know  neither  security  nor  peace.  In  1479,  on 
the  death  of  Don  Juan  II.,  king  of  Aragon,  Ferdinand  succeeded  to 
that  throne,  and  the  two  powerful  states  of  Aragon  and  Castile  were 
forever  incorporated.  This  memorable  event,  by  consolidating  the 
peace  of  the  Christians,  was  the  signal  for  the  destruction  of  the 
Mohammedan  government.  Abul  Hassan  prepared  for  the  ap- 
proaching storm.  Two  years  later,  while  the  Christian  sovereigns 
were  putting  an  end  to  the  troubles  raised  by  the  king  of  Portugal, 
he  suddenly  appeared  in  Andalusia  and  arrived  before  the  fortress 
of  Zahara,  which  he  knew  was  feebly  garrisoned.  The  night 
was  dark,  the  wind  high,  and  the  rain  descended  in  torrents, — cir- 
cumstances which,  by  inspiring  a  fatal  security  to  the  inhabitants, 
were  highly  favorable  to  the  assailants.  They  silently  scaled  the 
walls  and  took  possession  of  the  place  before  the  surprised  Chris- 
tians could  dream  of  defense.  Having  strengthened  the  forti- 
fications and  confided  their  defense  to  a  numerous  garrison,  he 
returned  triumphant  to  Granada. 

On  reaching  Granada  the  king  was  not  surprised  to  find  that 
the  prime  movers  of  the  rebellion  were  his  wife,  Zoraya,  and  his 
son,  Abu  Abdalla.  He  confined  both  in  a  fortress.  To  recall  the 
fidelity  of  his  subjects  by  some  signal  exploit,  the  king  departed 
to  raise  the  siege  of  Loxa,  w^iich  the  Christians  had  invested,  and 
succeeded  in  forcing  their  army,  which,  however,  was  only  16,000 
strong,  to  retire.  On  his  return  he  took  and  ruined  Canete  and 
reduced  the  inhabitants  to  slavery.  But  this  triumph  was  counter- 
balanced by  the  intelligence  that  his  rebellious  son  Abu  Abdalla  had 
seized  on  the  Alhambra  and  been  recognized  by  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  capital.  He  retired  to  Malaga,  which  some  time 
before  had  returned  to  its  obedience;  Guadix  and  Baza  also  de- 
clared for  him. 

By  perversity  of  chance  the  partisans  of  each  side  failed  him, 
and  united  for  Al)dalla  el  Zagai,  who  succeeded,  and  was  not  unqual- 
ified for  the  station  to  which  he  was  thus  unexpectedly  raised;  but 
the  individuals  in  whom  that  elevation  originated  must  have  been 
blind,  indeed,  not  to  preceive  that  it  was  a  measure  which  must  in- 
evitably add  to  the  existing  anarchy.  Abu  Abdalla  had  still  some 
determined  followers,  and  as  he  was  in  possession  of  the  Albaycin, 


122 


SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 


1483-1488 

one  of  the  best  fortified  places  of  the  capital,  he  showed  no  disposi- 
tion to  concede  his  pretensions  to  his  uncle,  any  more  than  he  had 
shown  it  to  his  father.  In  vain  did  the  less  ambitious  or  more 
prudent  uncle  propose  the  division  of  the  supreme  authority,  that 
both  might  turn  their  combined  forces  against  the  invaders.  As 
compromise  was  impossible,  each  endeavored  to  fortify  his  pre- 
tensions by  alliances, — the  former  with  the  walls  of  Almeria  and 
Guadix,  the  latter  with  the  Christians.  Ferdinand  naturally 
espoused  the  cause  of  his  vassal,  to  whom  he  dispatched  some 
troops;  he  next  took  the  field  in  person,  under  the  pretext  of  suc- 
coring Abu  Abdalla.     He  besieged  and  took  Alora  and  Setenil, 


aSidalusia 

LA5T  STRONGHOLD  OF M 00^51  N  SPAIN. 


>ASON-^^' 


and  defeated  the  Moors  in  two  partial  engagements.  In  1485  he 
caused  Ronda,  INIarbella,  Cahir,  Cartama,  etc.,  to  be  invested  at 
the  same  time.  On  the  reduction  of  these  important  places,  Moclin, 
Velez-Malaga,  and  Loxa  were  besieged.  Abdalla  el  Zagal  has- 
tened to  relieve  Moclin,  and  succeeded ;  but  at  Velez-Malaga,  the 
siege  of  which  he  also  endeavored  to  raise,  he  was  utterly  defeated 
and  compelled  to  retreat.  On  his  return  to  Granada,  however, 
the  inhabitants,  incensed  at  his  failure,  refused  to  admit  him,  and 
he  retired  to  Guadix.  Nor  did  better  fate  attend  Abu  Abdalla, 
who,  having  thrown  himself  into  Loxa,  was  constrained  to 
capitulate. 

The  conquest  or  capitulation  of  all  the  fortified  places  in  its 
neighborhood  had  isolated  the  important  city  of  Malaga,  the  pos- 
session    of  which  now  became  the  great  object  of  the  Castilians. 


GRANADA  123 

1488-1491 

The  wali  of  the  place,  a  kinsman  of  El  Zagal,  had  foreseen  the 
storm,  and  prepared  for  it  by  hiring  auxiliaries  from  Africa  and 
laying  in  considerable  supplies  of  provisions ;  the  population,  too, 
was  very  numerous,  and  animated  by  hatred  of  the  Christian 
name.  Hence  the  siege  continued  for  some  months  to  baffle  the 
efforts  of  King  Ferdinand  in  person,  and  even  of  Queen  Isabella, 
who  repaired  to  the  camp  of  her  husband  with  the  determination 
of  remaining  there  until  the  city  owned  their  joint  sway.  The 
submission  of  the  city  soon  followed  a  fruitless  effort  of  fanaticism. 
There  is,  however,  some  difference  between  the  accounts  of  the 
Moors  and  Christians  as  to  the  chief  result.  The  latter  say  that 
the  place  surrendered  unconditionally,  and  that  Isabella  honorably 
distinguished  herself  by  interceding  for  the  inhabitants,  who  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  property,  to  remain  or  retire  where  they 
pleased ;  while  the  former  assert  that  the  Christian  troops  were 
introduced  through  the  treachery  of  a  Moor  and  that  the  place 
was   delivered   up   to  pillage. 

The  western  fortresses  of  the  kingdom  being  in  the  power  of 
the  Christians,  Ferdinand  had  now  two  plans  before  him  for 
attaining  his  great  object:  he  could  either  at  once  fall  on  the  capital 
or  begin  with  the  reduction  of  the  eastern  strongholds.  He  chose 
the  latter;  he  knew  that,  if  he  triumphed  over  Abdalla  el  Zagal, 
who  possessed  Guadix,  Baza,  Almeria,  Vera,  etc.,  he  should  have 
little  difficulty  in  dethroning  the  fallen  Abu  Abdalla.  Velez  el 
Rubio,  Vera,  Mujacar,  etc.,  opened  their  gates  on  the  first  sum- 
mons. But  the  Christians  failed  before  Huescar,  Baza,  and 
Taberna,  and  had  the  worst  in  more  than  one  skirmish.  In  1488 
Ferdinand  again  hastened  to  the  field  at  the  head  of  50,000  foot 
and  12,000  horse,  resolved  with  this  formidable  force  to  deprive 
the  Moors  of  all  hopes  of  a  successful  resistance.  Under  the  pre- 
tense that  his  arms  were  to  be  directed  against  only  the  enemy  of 
his  ally,  he  hoped  to  divide  still  further  the  Moorish  power.  He 
succeeded  in  his  purpose :  the  people  of  Granada  looked  on,  not 
indeed  with  indifference,  but  certainly  without  much  anxiety  for 
tliemselves,  while  their  ally  marched  against  the  places  still  held 
fen'  El  Zagal.  Abu  Abdalla,  however,  was  aware  of  the  result;  he 
even  purchased  a  temporary  security  by  consenting  not  only  to 
abandon  his  uncle,  but  to  receive  into  Granada  itself  a  Christian 
garrison;  in  other  words,  to  deliver  that  capital,  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  El  Za"-al.  into  the  hands  of  Ferdinand.     In  return    he  was 


124  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

14S1 

to  receive  ample  domain,  under  the  title  of  vassalage  from  his 
feudal  superior.  Though  the  conditions  of  the  alliance  were 
secret,  El  Zagal,  convinced  that  he  should  now  have  to  encounter 
the  whole  power  of  the  Castilians,  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defense. 
His  kinsman,  the  cid  Yahia,  with  10,000  men,  he  sent  to  Baza, 
which  he  rightly  judged  would  be  one  of  the  first  places  to  be 
invested  by  Ferdinand. 

Having  reduced  Xucar,  the  Christian  monarch,  as  had 
been  foreseen,  laid  siege  to  Baza.  Purchena  Taberna,  Almunecar, 
Salobrena,  and  some  other  towns  of  the  Alpuj arras  were  eager  to 
follow  the  example  of  Baza,  so  that  the  once  proud  kingdom  of 
the  Moors  was  almost  literally  confined  to  the  walls  of  the  capital. 

Nothing  now  remained  but  to  complete  the  overthrow  of  the 
Moorish  power  by  the  conquest  of  Granada,  and  in  the  spring 
of  A.D.  149 1  Ferdinand  invested  this  great  city  with  50,000  foot 
and  10,000  horse.  That  the  siege  would  be  long  and  bloody 
was  to  be  expected  from  the  strength  of  the  fortifications  and 
the  fanaticism  of  the  people.  Some  time,  indeed,  elapsed  before 
the  place  could  be  effectually  invested ;  convoys  of  provisions  were 
frequently  received  in  spite  of  Ferdinand's  vigilance,  and  in  the 
sorties  which  from  time  to  time  took  place  the  advantage  was 
not  always  on  the  side  of  the  assailants.  The  petty  engagements 
so  thinned  the  Christian  host  that  the  king  at  length  forbade 
them ;  and  to  protect  his  camp  against  the  daring  irruptions  of 
the  Moors  he  surrounded  it  with  thick  walls  and  deep  ditches. 
The  enemy  now  saw  that  he  was  resolute  in  the  reduction  of  the 
place,  however  tardy  that  reduction  might  prove.  In  despair  at 
this  politic  expedient,  Muza,  the  Moorish  general,  a  man  of  great 
valor  and  ability,  persuaded  his  followers  to  join  him  in  storming 
the  Christian  entrenchments.  But  the  Christians  did  not  wait  to 
be  stormed.  Advancing,  they  utterly  routed  the  jNIussulmans  and 
cut  them  off  from  their  base  of  supplies.  In  the  face  of  threatened 
famine  Abu  Abdalla  hastily  summoned  a  council  to  hear  the  senti- 
ments of  his  chief  subjects  on  the  deplorable  state  of  affairs. 
All  agreed  that  the  camp,  the  city,  and  policy  of  Ferdinand  were 
but  too  indicative  of  his  unalterable  determination,  and  of  the  fate 
which  ultimately,  nay  soon,  awaited  them ;  that  the  people  were 
worn  out  by  abstinence  and  fatigue ;  and  that,  as  the  necessity  was 
imperative,  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  procure  favorable  terms 
of  capitulation  from  the  Castilian.     The  hagib,   AIjuI   Cassem,   a 


GRANADA  125 

1492 

venerable  old  man,  proceeded  to  the  Christian  camp,  and  on  the 
22d  day  of  Muharram,  897,^  conditions  were  agreed  on  between 
them  for  the  city's  total  subjugation.  The  conditions  were  laid 
by  Abdul  Cassem  before  the  council  of  Abu  Abdalla  and  were 
regarded  with  mournful  solemnity.  Many  of  the  members  were 
naturally  and  deeply  affected  at  the  prospect  before  them.  Muza 
advised  them  rather  to  perish  than  to  surrender,  and  seeing  his 
expostulations  unavailing,  he  left  the  hall  of  deliberation,  took 
his  horse  and  arms,  issued  from  the  gate  Elvira,  and  was  heard 
of  no  more.  After  his  departure,  Abu  Abdalla  said,  "  It  is  not 
courage  that  we  wa^it,  but  the  means  of  resistance ;  ill  fate  has  shed 
its  baneful  influence  over  the  kingdom,  and  has  unnerved  us  all. 
What  resource  i8  left  us  ?  The  storm  has  destroyed  all !  "  The 
justice  of  the  royal  complaint  was  acknowledged  by  all  except  the 
lowest  populace,  whose  fanaticism  would  probably  have  buried  the 
city  in  ruins  had  not  the  king,  with  the  advice  of  his  sheiks,  en- 
treated Ferdinand  to  take  possession  of  the  city  somewhat  earlier 
than  had  been  stipulated — an  entreaty  to  which  the  Castilian  king 
lent  a  willing  ear. 

It  was  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  moon  Rabia  I.,^  at  the  dawn 
of  day,  that  Abu  Abdalla  sent  his  family  and  treasures  into  the 
Alpujarras,  while  he  himself,  accompanied  by  fifty  horsemen,  rode 
out  to  meet  Ferdinand,  whom  he  saluted  as  his  liege  lord.  The 
keys  of  the  city  were  delivered  to  the  latter  by  Abul  Cassem ;  the 
Christians  entered  and  their  standards  were  speedily  hoisted  on  the 
towers  of  the  Alhambra  and  all  the  fortresses  in  the  place.  The 
fourth  day  following,  Ferdinand  and  his  royal  consort  made  a  solemn 
entry  into  the  city,  which  they  made  the  seat  of  an  archbishopric, 
and  in  which  they  abode  several  months.  As  for  the  feeble  Abu 
Abdalla,  he  had  not  courage  to  re-enter  it.  He  did  not  long  remain 
in  Spain.  Like  his  uncle,  he  sold  his  domains  and  retired  to  Africa, 
where  he  died  in  battle,  defending  the  throne  of  his  kinsman  the 
king  of  Fez.  Two  princes  of  the  family,  Yahia  and  his  son,  re- 
mained in  the  Peninsula,  where  they  embraced  the  Christian 
religion  and  were  laden  with  honors  and  wealth  by  their  new 
sovereign. 

The  conquest  of  Granada  was  indeed  the  overthrow  of  the 
Moors  in  Spain.     The  genius  of  that  people  had  its  fmest  flowering 

lA.ll.  897  opens  November  .3,  1491:  hence  November  25. 
"  January  4,  1492. 


126  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1492 

and  expression  in  that  kingdom,  with  Granada  as  its  capital.  Won- 
derful works  of  architecture  and  eng-ineering,  and  the  most  delicate 
products  of  art  and  industry  served  to  show  the  high  civilization 
to  which  this  richest  kingdom  of  the  Moors  attained,  and  their  in- 
fluence spread  through  the  channels  of  trade  to  almost  all  the 
markets  of  the  world.  The  splendid  city  of  Granada  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  strong  wall  and  crowned  with  more  than  a  thousand 
towers.  With  the  snow  peaks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  rising  at  its 
back  and  the  fertile  plain  of  Vega  stretched  below,  well  may  the 
sight  have  brought  streaming  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  exiled  Abu 
Abdalla,  as  he  looked  back  from  the  road  to  the  Alpujarras.  The 
Spaniards  still  commemorate  the  scene  of  the  sovereign's  farewell 
and  name  the  rocky  height  El  Ultimo  Sospiro  del  Moro — "  the  last 
sigh  of  the  Moor." 


PART    IV 

CHRISTIAN  SPAIN.     718-1516 


Chapter   IX 

THE  ASTURIAS,  LEON,  AND  CASTILE.     713-1230 

THE  more  zealous  or  more  independent  Christians  who, 
after  the  triumphs  of  Tarik  and  Musa,  were  dissatisfied 
with  the  submission  of  Theodomir,  gradually  forsook 
their  habitations  in  the  south  to  seek  a  more  secure  asylum  amidst 
the  northern  mountains  of  their  country.  They  knew  that  in  the 
same  hills  the  sacred  fire  of  liberty  had  been  preserved,  in  defiance 
of  Carthaginian,  or  Roman,  or  Goth ;  and  they  felt  that  to  them  was 
now  confided  the  duty  of  reviving  its  expiring  embers.  At  first, 
indeed,  the  number  which  resorted  to  these  solitudes  was  few,  and 
actuated  by  the  mere  hope  of  individual  safety ;  but  as  the  Moham- 
medan excesses  became  more  frequent  and  intolerable,  as  neither 
prompt  submission  nor  the  solemnity  of  treaties  could  guarantee 
the  unhappy  natives  from  plunder,  persecution,  and  destruction, 
and,  consequently,  as  the  number  of  refugees  increased,  the  possi- 
bility of  a  combined  defense  on  a  larger  scale,  and  even  of  laying 
the  foundation  of  an  infant  state,  was  eagerly  indulged. 

At  the  time  this  unequivocal  demonstration  of  defiance  was 
made  by  the  Christians,  Alhaur,  the  Mohammedan  governor,  was 
in  Gaul;  but  one  of  his  generals,  Alxaman,  accompanied,  as  we  are 
informed,  by  the  renegade  archbishop  Oppas,  and  obedient  to  his 
orders,  assembled  a  considerable  force,  and  hastened  into  the 
Asturias  to  crush  the  rising  insurrection.  Arriving  at  the  foot 
of  the  Asturian  mountains  without  obstacle,  the  Arabian  general 
(lid  not  hesitate  to  plunge  into  the  defiles.  Passing  along  the  valley 
of  Cangas,  he  came  to  the  foot  of  ]\Iount  Anseva,  near  the  River 
Sella.-'  On  the  heights  of  Covadunga  and  in  the  cavern  of  St. 
Mary  a  small  but  resolute  band  under  Pelayo  was  concealed,  wait- 
ing for  the  attack.  Loath  to  run  the  risk  of  one  where  the  advan- 
tage of  position  was  so  much  in  favor  of  the  Christians,  Alxaman 

'  The  grotto  of  Our  Lady  of  Covadunga  is  about  twelve  English  miles  from 
the  Bay  of  Biscay. 

129 


130  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

713-739 

is  said  to  have  dispatched  Oppas  to  Pelayo,  representing  to  that 
prince  the  inutihty  of  resistance  and  the  advantage  of  instant  sub- 
mission. The  refusal  of  the  Asturian,  who  well  knew  his  position 
and  what  stout  hearts  he  commanded,  was  followed  by  the  ascent 
of  the  Arabs  up  the  steep  acclivity.  But  their  consternation  could 
be  equalled  only  by  their  surprise  when  huge  rocks  and  stones 
came  thundering  down  on  their  dense  ranks,  by  which  they  were 
precipitated  into  the  narrow  valley  below.  The  destruction  did  not 
end  here:  it  met  those  who  attempted  to  ascend  the  opposite 
slope.  Many  thousands  were  crushed  beneath  the  vast  fragments, 
and  the  rest  would  speedily  have  shared  the  same  fate  had  they 
not  precipitately  fled  by  the  way  they  had  advanced.  The  con- 
fusion attending  this  retrograde  movement  was  turned  to  good 
account  by  the  Christians,  who  now  issued  from  their  hiding-places 
and  inflicted  a  terrific  loss  on  the  fugitives.  These  memorable 
events  fixed  the  destiny  of  the  infant  kingdom ;  they  were  the  first 
of  a  succession  of  triumphs  which,  though  sometimes  tardy  and 
often  neutralized  by  accident,  ended  in  the  final  expulsion  of  the 
invaders  from  the  Peninsula.  The  Asturias  were  now  left  in  the 
undisturbed  possession  of  the  Christians,  nor  were  the  Moham- 
medans for  some  years  in  any  disposition  to  assail  their  formidable 
neighbors. 

The  results  of  these  victories  were  highly  favorable  to  the 
Christians,  who  began  (in  the  Asturias)  to  found  towns,  to  repair 
such  as  had  suffered,  and  to  cultivate  the  ground  with  hope.  The 
remainder  of  Pelayo's  reign  is  unknown ;  it  was  probably  passed 
in  peace.  He  died  in  737  and  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St. 
Eulalia,  at  Congas  de  Onis.  This  hero  is  entitled  to  the  grateful 
reverence  of  posterity.  His  patriotism,  his  valor,  his  religious 
fervor  must  have  been  unrivaled,  or  he  would  scarcely  have  ven- 
tured, with  a  mere  handful  of  men,  to  stem  the  torrent  of  Moham- 
medan invasion.  Above  all,  he  appears  to  great  advantage  when 
contrasted  with  Theodomir,  who,  however  amiable  in  private  life, 
and  even  courageous  in  the  battlefield,  cannot  escape  our  censure 
for  tamely  submitting  to  the  hateful  and  despicable  yoke  of  the 
Arabs. 

Of  Favila,  the  son  and  successor  of  Pelayo,  nothing  is  known 
beyond  his  brief  reign  and  tragical  deatli.  In  739  he  was  killed 
by  a  boar  while  hunting  in  the  neighborliood  of  the  church  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  which  he  had  founded. 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      131 

739-783 

Alfonso  L,  surnamed  the  Catholic,  a  son-in-law  of  Pelayo, 
descended,  we  are  told,  from  Leovigild,  was  the  next  prince  on 
whom  the  suffrages  of  the  Asturians  fell. 

But  Alfonso  was  not  merely  a  conqueror:  the  colonies  which 
he  established,  the  towns  which  he  founded  or  restored,  the  churches 
which  he  built  or  repaired,  are  justly  adduced  as  signal  monuments 
of  his  patriotism  and  religious  zeal.  Hence  the  appellation  of 
Catholic — an  appellation  which  continues  at  the  present  day  to  dis- 
tinguish his  successors.  His  end,  which  happened  in  757,  cor- 
responded with  his  life. 

Fruela  I.,  the  eldest  son  of  Alfonso,  is  represented  as  stern 
in  disposition,  as  cruel  in  his  habits,  and  valiant  in  war. 

The  harsh  character  of  Fruela,  joined  perhaps  to  the  natural 
inconstancy  of  man,  led  to  a  revolt  in  Galicia  and  Biscay,  but  he 
succeeded  in  repressing  both,  and  he  inflicted  a  heavy  punishment 
on  the  rebels.  The  man,  indeed,  who  with  his  own  hands  shed  the 
blood  of  an  innocent  brother,  was  not  likely  to  spare  guilty  sub- 
jects. But  in  the  end,  finding  his  yoke  intolerable,  or  perhaps 
resolved  no  longer  to  obey  a  fratricide,  his  people  rose  and 
slew  him,  after  a  reign  of  somewhat  more  than  eleven  years,  in 
A.D.  768. 

Of  Aurelio,  the  cousin  and  successor  of  Fruela,  nothing  is 
known,  but  that,  according  to  the  Christian  writers,  he  lived  in 
peace  with  the  Moors,  and  that,  after  a  struggle,  he  reduced  to 
obedience  the  slaves  and  freedmen  who  had  revolted  against  their 
lords.  But  the  Mohammedans  will  not  allow  that  he  thus  remained 
unmolested  by  their  great  king  Abderahman.  They  assert  that, 
on  his  endeavoring  to  evade  the  tribute  covenanted  with  Fruela,  he 
was  at  least  twice  defeated  by  two  Arabian  generals,  and  that  he 
esteemed  liimself  fortunate  in  being  able  to  procure  peace  on  the 
same  condition  of  vassalage.  As  little  is  known  of  Silo,  son-in- 
law  of  Alfonso  I.  and  brother  of  Aurelio,  who  was  elected  king  in 
774.  Tliat  he  continued  at  peace  with  the  Arabs  is  certain,  but  on 
what  terms  is  doubtful ;  the  dark  expression  in  the  monk  of  Albelda, 
that  Spain  enjoyed  peace  with  the  Moors  tlirough  his  mother 
(S pallia  ab  causam  inatris  paccm  Jiabuit),  would  lead  us  to  infer 
that  there  was  some  closer  relation  between  the  royal  families  of 
the  two  nations  than  is  generally  supposed.  In  his  reign,  as  in  that 
of  Frnela,  the  Galicians  revolted,  and  were  reduced  to  obedience. 
But   the  most  memorable  event  of  this  period   is   the  arrival   oi 


132  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

783-791 

Charlemagne,  whose  invasion,  dubious  ahke  in  its  pretensions  and 
result,  has  been  sufficiently  detailed.     Silo  died  in  783. 

Mauregato,  the  bastard  son  of  Alfonso  I.,  who  usurped  the 
crown  to  the  prejudice  of  his  nephew  Alfonso,  son  of  Fruela,  would 
also  descend  almost  unnoticed  to  posterity  were  it  not  for  the 
famous  tribute  ascribed  to  him.  Despairing  of  a  successful  oppo- 
sition to  the  party  of  the  young  prince,  he  is  said  to  have  triumphed 
by  the  aid  of  Abderahman,  and  that  either  through  gratitude  or  in 
compliance  with  the  demand  of  his  ally,  he  agreed  to  pay  thence- 
forth an  annual  tribute — not  of  money,  or  horses,  or  arms,  but 
of  a  hundred  damsels  (all  to  be  distinguished  for  beauty)  to  orna- 
ment the  harems  of  the  misbelievers.  His  memory,  however,  does 
not  deserve  to  be  charged  with  so  odious  a  stain.  But  in  any  case 
the  usurper  would  well  deserve  the  ill  repute  in  which  his  name  is 
mentioned  by  posterity. 

On  the  death  of  Mauregato,  in  788,  Bermudo  I.  was  elected 
to  the  throne.  The  nobles  who  were  known  to  have  been  concerned 
in  the  murder  of  Fruela  were  naturally  desirous  to  exclude  Alfonso, 
in  the  apprehension  that  he  would  seek  to  revenge  that  deed  of 
darkness.  Bermudo,  too,  the  nephew  of  Alfonso  the  Catholic,  was 
the  only  remaining  prince  of  the  race  of  Recared,  and  though  in 
holy  orders,  and  averse  to  the  regal  office,  it  was  not  only  forced  on 
him,  but  he  was  in  a  manner  constrained  to  marry.  He  did  not 
long  remain  king:  whether  through  disgust  with  the  dignity,  or 
through  a  conviction  that  it  would  be  better  filled  by  his  nephew, 
or,  more  probably,  from  conscientious  scruples,  he  resolved  to 
separate  from  his  wife,  and  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  that  prince.  He 
had  little  difficulty  in  persuading  his  nobles  to  acknowledge  Alfonso, 
as  the  mild  disposition  of  the  latter  seemed  to  them  a  sufficient 
guarantee  that  revenge  would  be  sacrificed  to  policy. 

Alfonso  n.,  better  known  as  Alfonso  the  Chaste,  began  to 
reign  in  791.  That  he  was  not  unworthy  the  partiality  of  his 
uncle  or  the  affection  of  his  people  appears  both  from  the  victories 
he  obtained  over  the  Mohammedans  and  from  his  patriotic  rule. 
Yet  he  w^as  doomed  to  experience  the  ordinary  ingratitude  of  men ; 
for,  not  long  after  his  accession,  he  was  forcibly  seized  and  con- 
fined in  a  monastery,  not  by  a  small  party,  but  by  a  formidable  army 
of  rebels.  Tliat  confinement,  however,  appears  to  have  been  of 
short  duration;  some  of  his  faithful  vassals  hastened  to  his  retreat 
and  brought  him  in  triumph  to  Oviedo,  where  he  established  his 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      133 

791-850 

court.  That  city,  which  now  became  the  capital  of  his  kingdom, 
he  enlarged  and  embellished :  many  of  the  edifices  erected  by  him 
were  distinguished  for  equal  magnificence  and  extent.  The  church 
of  San  Salvador,  in  particular,  which  occupied  thirty  years  in  build- 
ing, is  a  well-known  and  justly  admired  monument  of  his  taste  and 
religious  zeal. 

Though  the  reign  of  Alfonso  exceeded  fifty  years  in  duration, 
it  contains  very  little  to  strike  the  attention,  if  we  except  his  wars 
with  the  Mohammedans.  This  surname  of  the  Chaste  has  pro- 
cured him  great  veneration,  so  much,  indeed,  that  his  not  being 
canonized  seems  to  have  surprised  not  a  few  of  his  countrymen. 

In  842  Ramiro  I.,  son  of  King  Bermudo  the  Deacon,  was 
elected  successor  to  Alfonso.  As  at  the  time  of  his  election  the 
prince  happened  to  be  absent  on  a  matrimonial  excursion,  one 
Nepotiano,  an  Asturian  count  and  a  kinsman  of  the  deceased  king, 
aspired  to  the  crown.  Ramiro  hastened  to  vindicate  his  right; 
his  competitor  also  collected  followers ;  a  battle  ensued,  to  the  favor 
of  the  rightful  sovereign ;  Nepotiano  fled,  was  overtaken,  deprived 
of  his  eyes,  and  shut  up  in  a  monastery. 

This  king  was  no  less  successful  against  his  foreign  than  his 
domestic  enemies.  The  Scandinavian  vikings,  after  ravaging  the 
coasts  of  France,  appeared  before  Gijon,  in  the  Asturias,  but  finding 
the  place  too  well  defended  to  be  assailed  with  impunity,  they  pro- 
ceeded round  the  coast  to  Coruiia.  There  they  landed  and  com- 
mitted their  usual  atrocities,  until  the  Asturian  king  hastened  to 
oppose  them.  Being  defeated  by  him  and  seventy  of  their  vessels 
burned,  they  proceeded  onwards,  doubled  Cape  St.  Vincent,  and,  as 
already  related,  inflicted  heavy  mischief  on  the  Alohammedan  pos- 
sessions of  the  south.  By  Sebastian  of  Salamanca  he  is  said  to  have 
been  twice  victorious  also  over  the  Saracens. 

Ordono  I.,  son  of  the  deceased  king,  ascended  the  Asturian 
throne  at  an  early  age.  One  of  his  first  objects  was  to  fortify  his 
frontier  places  against  the  incursions  of  the  Mohammedans  and 
to  repeople  such  as  had  lain  waste  since  the  time  of  Alfonso  I. 
Leon,  Amaya,  Astorga,  and  Tuy  were  among  the  number.  In  his 
frequent  contests  with  the  enemy  he  was  almost  uniformly  suc- 
cessful. Ordono,  at  the  close  of  his  reign,  was  undisturbed  master 
of  the  whole  country,  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to  Salamanca. 

Under  Ordono  the  Normans  again  landed  on  the  Galician 
coast,  but  being  defeated  by  Count  Pedro,  governor  of  the  province, 


134  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

866-91& 

they  proceeded  to  the  more  fertile  towns  of  Andakisia :  their 
devastations  have  been  already  recorded. 

Alfonso  III.,  the  eldest  son  of  the  deceased  Ordono,  ascended 
the  throne  in  866.  The  beginning  of  his  reign,  like  that  of  some 
of  his  predecessors,  was  troubled  through  the  ill-fortune  of  an  elec- 
tive government.  His  kingdom  was  invaded,  and  his  throne  was 
seized  by  a  count  of  Galicia,  and  he  was  even  compelled  to  flee  into 
Alava.  By  the  senate  of  Oviedo,  however,  the  usurper  was  assas- 
sinated, and  the  rightful  monarch  triumphantly  escorted  to  his 
capital. 

During  the  late  reigns  the  people  of  Navarre  had  been  among 
the  most  frequent  to  revolt :  they  were  in  all  cases  instigated  by 
the  Franks,  who  constantly  aspired  to  a  permanent  settlement  south 
of  the  Pyrenees,  and  who  were  anxious  to  repair  the  ill-success  of 
their  arms  under  their  great  emperor  and  his  descendants.  Since 
the  time  Charlemagne  had  heroically  destroyed  the  fortifications 
of  Christian  Pampeluna,  the  Carlovingian  race  had  regarded  the 
whole  of  Navarre  as  their  rightful  heritage,  and  labored,  often  with 
success,  to  procure  the  homage  of  the  local  governors.  To  chastise 
both  count  and  people  was  a  constant  task  for  the  Asturian  kings; 
but  Alfonso  found  that  these  domestic  contests  distracted  his  atten- 
tion from  the  war  with  the  Alohammedans. 

But  Alfonso's  victories  over  the  Mohammedans  almost  atoned 
for  his  imprudent  policy  with  regard  to. Navarre, — if,  indeed,  that 
policy  was  not  the  compulsory  result  of  circumstances.  From  870 
to  901  his  contests  with  the  enemy, — whether  with  tlie  kings  of 
Cordova  or  their  rebellious  vassals,  who  aimed  at  independence, — 
were  one  continued  series  of  successes.  His  last  exploit  at  this  period 
was  the  destruction,  in  the  battle  of  Zamora,  of  a  formidable  army, 
led  by  the  rebel  Calib  of  Toledo,  whose  ally,  Abul  Cassem,  fell  on 
the  field. 

But  this  great  prince,  if  glorious  in  his  contests  with  the  natural 
enemy,  was  unable  to  contend  with  his  rebellious  barons,  headed  by 
his  still  more  rebellious  son  Garcia.  The  latter  was  seized  by 
a  detachment  of  the  royal  troops  and  consigned  to  a  fortress,  where 
he  was  forced  to  remain  three  years.  At  the  prospect  of  a  civil  war, 
the  king  no  longer  wished  to  uphold  his  just  rights.  Having  con- 
voked an  assembly  at  Bordes,  in  the  Asturias,  in  910,  he  solemnly 
renounced  the  crown  in  favor  of  Don  Garcia,  who  passed  at  once 
from  a  prison  to  a  throne.     To  his  second  son   Ordono   he  granted 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      135 

910-923 

the  government  of  Galicia;  and  another,  Fruela,  he  confirmed  in 
that  of  Oviedo.  These  concessions  were,  doubtless,  extorted  from 
him, — a  fact  that  does  not  speak  much  for  the  firmness  of  his  domes- 
tic administration :  he  appears,  Hke  many  other  princes  of  his  coun- 
try, to  have  been  great  chiefly  in  the  field  of  battle. 

Alfonso  did  not  long  survive  his  abdication.  He  died  at 
Zamora,  at  the  close  of  the  year  910,  leaving  behind  him  the  repu- 
tation of  one  of  the  most  valiant,  magnanimous,  and  pious  sov- 
ereigns that  Spain  ever  produced. 

Of  Garcia,  the  successor  of  Alfonso  IIL,  little  more  is  known 
than  that  he  transferred  the  seat  of  sovereignty  from  Oviedo  to 
Leon,  made  a  successful  irruption  into  the  territories  of  the  mis- 
believers, and  died  in  914.  The  nobles  and  bishops  of  the  king- 
dom— henceforth  called  the  kingdom  of  Leon — having  met,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  a  successor,  placed 
the  royal  crown  on  the  head  of  Ordono,  brother  of  the  deceased 
Garcia. 

Ordofio  IL,  under  the  reigns  both  of  his  father  and  brother, 
had  distinguished  himself  against  the  ]Mohammedans,  and  he 
resolved  that  no  one  should  say  his  head  was  weakened  by  a  crown. 
In  917  he  advanced  towards  the  Guadiana,  stormed  the  town  of 
Alhange,  which  is  above  Merida,  put  the  garrison  to  the  sword, 
made  the  women  and  children  captives,  and  gained  abundant  spoil. 
With  the  wealth  thus  acquired  he  founded  the  magnificent  cathedral 
of  Leon.  In  a  subsequent  expedition  he  ruined  Talavera  and 
defeated  a  ^Mohammedan  army  near  its  walls.  Indignant  at  these 
disasters,  Abderahman  III.  assembled  a  powerful  army,  not  only 
from  all  parts  of  Mohammedan  Spain,  but  from  Africa ;  but  this 
immense  host  was  also  defeated,  under  the  walls  of  San  Pedro  dc 
Gormaz.  Nearly  three  years  afterwards,  in  921,  Ordono  was 
in  turn  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Val  de  Junquera,  whither  he  had 
advanced  to  aid  the  king  of  Navarre,  and  where  two  of  his  prel- 
ates, Dulcidio  of  Salamanca  and  Hermogio  of  Tuy,  were  made 
prisoners.  He  took  his  revenge  for  this  disaster  by  an  irruption 
into  Andalusia,  which  he  laid  waste  from  the  Navas  de  Tolosa  to 
within  a  day's  journey  of  Cordova. 

Ordono  did  not  long  survive  tlie  triumph  over  his  rebellious 
subjects.  He  died  in  923.  immediately  after  his  third  marriage 
with  a  princess  of  Navarre. 

Fruela  II..  brotlicr  of  Ordono.  was  elected  in  preference  to  the 


136  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

925-950 

children  of  the  deceased  king — probably  because  they  were  too 
young  to  be  intrusted  with  the  cares  of  government.  Of  him  we 
know  httle  more  than  that  he  died  after  a  reign  of  fourteen  months, 
and  that  his  premature  death  was  considered  by  the  chroniclers  as 
a  righteous  punishment  for  his  banishing,  without  cause,  the  bishop 
of  Leon,  and  persecuting,  with  fatal  malignity,  two  innocent 
brothers  of  that  prelate.  The  cause  of  his  enmity  was  the  zeal 
which  these  persons  had  shown  in  favor  of  Alfonso,  the  eldest  son 
of  Ordofio. 

Alfonso  IV.,  who  succeeded,  in  925,  in  preference  to  the  sons 
of  Fruela  IL,  is  represented  as  a  prince  more  addicted  to  piety  than 
to  ambition.  In  the  sixth  year  of  his  reign  he  renounced  the  vani- 
ties of  the  world,  resigned  the  scepter  into  the  hands  of  his  brother 
Ramiro,  and  retired  into  the  monastery  of  Sahagun. 

Ramiro  IL,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  930,  is  chiefly  distin- 
guished for  his  wars  with  the  misbelievers^ — wars  which  have  been 
already  noticed  as  far  as  they  could  be  discriminated  amid  the  con- 
flicting accounts  of  the  two  nations.  One  of  his  victories,  that  of 
Simancas,  fought  in  939,  seems,  in  many  of  its  circumstances,  to 
be  the  same  as  the  one  gained  at  Clavijo  by  Ramiro  I. :  the  two 
have,  beyond  all  doubt,  been  confounded,  and  it  is  no  less  undoubted 
that  the  circumstances  are  a  pure  creation  of  the  chroniclers. 

Like  most  of  his  predecessors,  Ramiro  had  also  to  struggle 
with  internal  discord.  The  dependent  count  of  Castile.  Fernan 
Gonsalez,  and  one  Diego  Nunez,  a  count  also  in  the  same  province, 
for  reasons  with  which  history  (however  communicative  romance 
may  be)  does  not  acquaint  us,  revolted  against  him.  The  incensed 
king  marched  against  them,  seized  their  persons,  and  confined  them 
in  two  separate  fortresses.  His  displeasure  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion :  he  suffered  the  counts  to  resume  their  offices  on  their  taking 
the  usual  oaths  of  obedience,  and  he  even  married  his  eldest  son, 
Ordofio,  to  Urraca,  daughter  of  Fernan  Gonsalez.  To  that  son,  on 
the  vigil  of  the  Epiphany,  in  the  year  950,  he  resigned  the  crown: 
his  growing  illness  convinced  him  that  he  had  not  long  to  live;  he 
therefore  assumed  the  penitential  garb  and  passed  his  few  remain- 
ing days  in  religious  retirement. 

Ordofio  III.  had  scarcely  ascended  the  throne  before  he  was 
troubled  by  the  ambitious  projects  of  his  younger  brother,  Don 
Sancho.  Sancho  and  the  count,  at  the  head  of  the  Castilians 
and  the  Navarrese,  in  vain  invaded  the  territories  of  Leon ;  they 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      137 

955-982 

found  Ordono  so  well  prepared  to  receive  them  that  they  retreated 
without  risking  a  single  battle.  With  equal  success  did  he  triumph 
over  the  Galicians,  who,  for  reasons  which  the  meager  chroniclers 
of  the  time  never  dream  of  communicating,  openly  rebelled.  He 
died  in  955. 

Sancho  I.,  surnamed  from  his  corpulency  the  Fat,  now  arrived 
at  the  summit  of  his  ambition.  But  by  the  retributive  justice  of 
Heaven  he  was  doomed  to  bear,  and  in  a  still  heavier  degree,  the 
burden  of  anxiety  which  he  had  laid  on  his  brother  and  predecessor. 
Aided  by  the  restless  count  of  Castile,  whose  daughter,  the  divorced 
Urraca,  he  had  married,  Ordoiio,  son  of  Alfonso  IV.,  aspired  to  the 
throne.  Despairing  of  success  by  open  arms,  the  two  rebels  art- 
fully seduced  the  troops  of  Sancho  from  their  allegiance,  and  per- 
suaded them  to  join  the  intruder.  This  unexpected  event  deprived 
the  king  of  the  means  of  resistance,  compelled  him  to  flee  secretly 
for  his  life,  and  raised  Ordono  to  a  precarious  dignity. 

The  exiled  Sancho,  after  various  adventures,  was  at  length 
reinstated  in  his  kingdom.  The  restored  king  did  not  long,  how- 
ever, survive  his  good  fortune.  In  an  expedition  against  Gonsalo 
Sanchez,  count  of  Galicia,  who  aspired  to  render  that  government 
independent  of  Leon,  he  was  poisoned  under  the  mask  of  hospitality 
by  that  perfidious  rebel,  after  a  troubled  reign  of  twelve  years. 

As  Ramiro  III.  was  only  five  years  of  age  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  his  education  fell  to  the  care  of  his  aunt  Dofia  Elvira,  abbess 
of  the  convent  of  San  Salvador,  who  also  appears  to  have  been 
regent  of  the  kingdom.  His  minority  offers  little  that  is  interesting, 
if  we  except  a  predatory  irruption  of  the  Normans,  who,  early  in 
968,  one  year  after  his  accession,  landed  in  Galicia,  advanced 
towards  Compostella,  defeated  and  slew  Sismondo,  bishop  of  that 
see,  laid  waste  the  whole  of  that  province,  with  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  Leon,  and  during  two  successive  years  committed  their  usual 
depredations,  with,  as  appears,  perfect  impunity. 

As  Ramiro  grew  in  years  the  (qualities  which  he  exhibited 
augured  anything  but  good  to  his  people.  Rash,  presumptuous, 
self-sufficient,  and  haughty  in  his  behavior  to  his  wisest  counselors, 
he  became  so  odious  to  the  nation  that  the  counts  of  Castile,  Leon, 
and  Galicia  threw  off  their  allegiance  to  him  and  proclaimed  in 
Compostella  Prince  Bermudo,  grandson  of  Fruela  IT.  Ramiro 
immediately  assembled  an  army,  and  marched  against  his  rival, 
whom  he  encountered  near  ^Nlonterroso  in  Galicia,  in  982.       The 


138  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

982-1021 

contest,  though  long  and  bloody,  was  indecisive,  so  that  both  kings, 
afraid  of  renewing  it,  retired  to  their  respective  courts — Ramiro  to 
Leon  and  Bermudo  to  Santiago.  The  calamities  arising  from  this 
civil  strife  were  increased  by  the  hostile  inroads  of  Almansor,  the 
celebrated  hagib  of  Hixem  II.,  who  now  began  a  career  of  unrivaled 
military  splendor,  and  who  was  destined  to  prove  the  most  formid- 
able enemy  the  Christians  had  experienced  since  the  time  of  Tarik 
and  Muza.  Fortunately,  however,  for  the  distracted  state,  Ramiro 
did  not  long  survive  his  return  to  Leon :  his  death  again  consoli- 
dated the  regal  power. 

Bermudo  II.,  who,  on  the  death  of  Ramiro,  in  982,  was  ac- 
knowledged king  of  Leon,  had  little  reason  to  congratulate  him- 
self on  his  elevation,  since  his  reign  was  one  of  the  most  disastrous 
in  the  national  annals, — distracted  alike  by  domestic  rebellion  and 
foreign  invasion.  Of  the  rebels  who  embittered  his  days  by  openly 
favoring  the  frequent  invasions  of  the  Mohammedans,  three  are 
particularly  mentioned  in  history,  Rodrigo  Velasquez,  Conancio, 
and  Gonzalo  Bermudez. 

Alfonzo  V.  was  only  five  years  of  age  on  the  death  of  his 
father,  and  the  government  was  consequently  intrusted  to  a  regent. 
That  regency  is  eventful,  from  the  defeat  of  Almansor  in  looi, — a 
defeat  wdiich  not  only  occasioned  the  death  of  that  hero,  but  w'hich 
was  the  forerunner  of  the  fall  of  Cordova.  In  the  dissensions 
which  followed  among  the  candidates  for  the  throne  of  Hixem,  the 
Christian  princes  of  Spain  embraced  different  sides,  as  their  inter- 
ests or  inclinations  dictated.  In  10 10  Alfonso  was  imprudent 
enough  to  confer  the  hand  of  his  sister  on  Mohammed,  king  of 
Toledo, — a  prince  who  was  subsequently  raised  to  the  throne  of 
Cordova,  but  was  soon  deposed  and  put  to  death  by  Hixem. 

As  the  king  of  Leon  grew  in  years,  he  endeavored  to  repair  the 
disasters  which  had  been  occasioned  by  the  hostile  inroads  of  the 
Arabs :  he  rebuilt  and  repeopled  his  capital,  vvhither  the  seat  of 
government  was  again  transferred  from  Oviedo;  he  restored  both 
to  the  churches  and  to  individuals  the  property  of  which  they  had 
been  despoiled,  and  proclaimed  some  salutary  laws  for  the  observ- 
ance of  the  local  counts.  His  good  intentions,  how^ever,  w-ere  not 
a  little  tliwarted  by  the  rebellion  of  Count  Sancho  Garces  of  Castile, 
who  disdained  to  acknowledge  his  authority.  But  in  102 1  Don 
Sancho  died :  his  son,  Don  Garcia,  a  mere  child,  succeeded  him. 
This  seemed  to  the  king  of  Leon  a  most  favorable  opportunity  for 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE       139 

1021-1035 

binding  Castile  closely  with  his  crown,  by  a  double  union  between 
the  two  houses :  his  son  Bermudo  he  proposed  to  marry  with  Dofia 
Ximena,  sister  of  the  young  count,  and  the  count  himself  with  his 
daughter  Doha  Sancha;  at  the  same  time  he  offered  to  confer  on 
his  future  son-in-law  the  title  of  king.  The  count,  in  1026,  left 
Burgos  for  the  court  of  Leon,  where  he  was  received  with  all  the 
friendship  due  to  the  character  he  was  about  to  assume.  But 
amidst  the  rejoicings  consequent  on  his  arrival  he  was  assassinated 
by  the  sons  of  one  Count  Vela,  who  had  been  the  vassals  of  his 
father,  and  who  had  fled  from  Castile  to  Leon,  where  they  had  been 
kindly  received  by  Alfonso.  The  assassins  fled  to  Monzon  and 
thence  towards  the  country  of  the  Mohammedans ;  but  they  were 
overtaken  by  the  king  of  Navarre,  brother-in-law  of  the  murdered 
count,  who  took  and  burned  them  alive.  With  Don  Garcia  ended  the 
counts  of  Castile, — which  was  thenceforth  to  be  governed  by  kings, 
and  to  remain  more  than  two  centuries  dissevered  from  Leon. 

Alfonso,  soon  after  this  tragical  catastrophe,  carried  his  arms 
into  Portugal  and  laid  siege  to  Viseo,  then  held  by  the  Mohamme- 
dans, One  day,  however,  being  so  imprudent  as  to  approach  very 
near  to  the  walls  without  any  defensive  armor,  he  was  mortally 
wounded  by  an  arrow  from  the  ramparts,  and  the  siege  was  in  con- 
sequence raised. 

Like  his  father,  Bermudo  IIL  was  at  a  tender  age  on  his  acces- 
sion, though  already  married  to  the  infanta  of  Castile.  Of  this 
circumstance  advantage  was  unworthily  taken  by  Sancho  el  ]\Iayor. 
king  of  Navarre,  who,  not  satisfied  with  assuming  the  sovereignty 
of  Castile  in  right  of  his  queen,  Doha  Muna  Elvira,  the  elder  sister 
of  the  queen  of  Leon  and  daughter  of  Don  Garcia,  the  last  count 
of  Castile,  made  a  hostile  irruption  into  the  states  of  his  brother-in- 
law.  Peace  was,  however,  made  on  the  condition  that  the  king  of 
Leon  should  confer  the  hand  of  his  sister,  Doha  Sancha,  on  Don 
Ferdinand,  one  of  King  Sancho's  sons.  But  this  peace  appears  to 
have  been  subsequently  broken,  doubtless  through  the  ambition  of 
the  enterprising  Navarrese,  for  that  king  in  1034  possessed  As- 
torga,  and  indeed  most  of  the  country  as  far  as  Galicia.  As  Ber- 
mudo continued  childless,  the  wily  monarch  might  safely  cherish 
the  hope  that  the  crown  of  Leon  would  devolve  on  the  brows  of  his 
son  in  right  of  the  infanta,  his  daughter-in-law. 

On  the  death  of  Sancho,  in  1035,  his  ample  states  were  thus 
divided:     To  Garcia  he  left  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  the  lordship 


140  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1037 

of  Biscay  (which  had  been  hitherto  annexed  to  Castile),  and  a  part 
of  Rioja ;  to  Ferdinand  he  bequeathed  the  new  kingdom  of  Castile, 
and  the  conquests  he  had  made  between  the  Pisuerga  and  the  Cea; 
to  Ramiro  fell  the  states  of  Aragon,  which  had  hitherto  continued 
a  lordship  as  much  dependent  on  Navarre  as  Castile  on  Leon ;  to 
another  son,  Gonzalo,  he  left  Ribagorza,  with  some  forts  in 
Aragon. 

This  policy  could  not  fail  to  be  followed  by  fatal  results. 
While  Ramiro  made  war  on  his  brother  of  Navarre,  Ferdinand  L 
was  summoned  to  the  defense  of  the  conquests  which  he  held  be- 
yond the  Pisuerga,  and  which  Bermudo  resolved  again  to  incor- 
porate with  the  kingdom  of  Leon.  Aided  by  some  auxiliary  troops 
under  his  brother  Garcia,  he  encountered  Bermudo  on  the  banks  of 
the  Carrion.  The  battle,  which  was  fought  in  1037,  was  sangui- 
nary and  long-continued,  until  the  king  of  Leon  impatiently  spurred 
his  horse  into  the  midst  of  the  hostile  squadrons  and  fell  mortally 
wounded  by  the  thrust  of  a  lance. 

With  Bermudo  IIL  ended  the  male  line  of  the  house  of  Leon. 
This  prince  deserved  a  better  fate  than  that  of  falling  by  hostile 
hands  at  the  premature  age  of  nineteen.  His  zeal  in  building 
churches  and  monasteries,  his  vigorous  operations  against  the  Mo- 
hammedans, and  his  firm  administration  of  justice,  as  well  as  the 
natural  affability  of  his  disposition,  all  rendered  him  dear  to  his 
people. 

In  Castile,  the  reign  of  Sancho  el  Mayor,  the  first  sovereign 
of  the  new  kingdom,  began  in  1026  and  ended  in  1035.  Hence, 
as  Ferdinand  grasped  the  scepter  early  in  the  latter  year,  he  had 
reigned  somewhat  more  than  two  years  when,  by  the  death  of 
Bermudo  111.,  in  June,  1037,  he  became,  in  right  of  his  queen,  king 
also  of  Leon. 

But  Ferdinand  L,  though  he  lost  no  time  in  marching  his  vic- 
torious army  to  the  city  of  Leon,  was  not  immediately  recognized 
by  the  inhabitants  of  that  capital.  Their  affection  for  their  de- 
ceased king;  their  resentment  towards  his  victor,  especially  as  that 
victor  was  the  son  of  one  whose  memory  they  had  little  reason  to 
respect;  and,  still  more,  the  humiliation  of  receiving  as  their  master 
the  sovereign  of  a  country  which  had  until  within  the  last  eleven 
years  been  dependent  on  their  rulers,  made  them  offer  for  a  few 
days  a  courageous  resistance.  But  sober  reflection  now  taught 
them  that  there  was  little  wisdom  in  exasperating  one  whom  sooner 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      141 

1054-1057 

or  later  they  must  inevitably  obey,  and  they  opened  their  gates  to 
him.  In  time  the  monarch  triumphed  over  all  opposition  and  his 
throne  was  at  length  established  in  the  hearts  of  his  subjects. 

But  if  Ferdinand  was  freed  from  domestic  troubles,  he  ex- 
perienced them  from  a  neighbor  and  a  brother — an  inevitable  effect 
of  the  disastrous  policy  of  his  father.  His  prosperity  was  envied 
by  the  king  of  Navarre,  who,  actuated,  we  are  told,  by  the  very 
demon  of  ambition,  and  regardless  alike  of  honor,  or  faith,  or  fra- 
ternal obligation,  formed  a  design  for  depriving  him,  if  not  of  life, 
at  least  of  sovereignty.  This  was  a  signal  for  open  war  between 
the  two  brothers,  a  war  which  Ferdinand,  however  conscious  of  his 
own  superior  power,  vainly  endeavored  to  avert  by  entreaties  or 
remonstrances.  At  the  head  of  a  combined  army  of  Navarrese  and 
Mohammedans,  Don  Garcia,  in  1054,  invaded  Castile;  near  Burgos 
he  was  encountered  by  the  king  of  Leon  and  Castile.  Before  the 
struggle  commenced  attempts  were  made  to  dissuade  the  assailant 
from  his  unnatural,  and  hopeless  as  unnatural,  purpose ;  but  not  even 
the  affectionate  entreaties  of  his  governor  in  infancy  could  succeed. 
Seeing  the  number  of  the  enemy  and  the  hopelessness  of  the  contest, 
the  faithful  old  man, — faithful  even  unto  death, — seized  sword  and 
lance  and  placed  himself  in  the  front  of  the  lines,  without  shield, 
or  helmet,  or  breastplate,  resolving  rather  to  die  than  to  behold  the 
death  of  his  beloved  master.  Here,  as  the  squadrons  closed,  he 
received  the  fate  he  sought ;  and,  as  he  had  foreseen,  it  immediately 
fell  on  Don  Garcia,  who  was  pierced  to  the  heart  by  a  lance  in  the 
hand  of  some  officer  connected  with  the  royal  house  of  Leon, — 
probably,  as  the  monk  of  Silos  asserts,  at  the  secret  instigation  of 
the  queen  of  Leon,  Dofia  Sancha.  The  army,  which  had  lost  its 
chief,  immediately  fled.  The  victor  gave  orders  that  the  Navarrese 
should  be  allowed  to  retire  unmolested,  but  permitted  the  vengeance 
of  liis  soldiers  to  fall  on  the  IMohammedan  auxiliaries.  The  corpse 
he  buried  with  royal  honors  and  fraternal  regret  in  the  principal 
church  of  Najera. 

No  sooner  had  Ferdinand  restored  tranquillity  to  his  states 
than  he  prepared  for  the  execution  of  a  j^roject  he  had  long  formed, 
— that  of  making  war  on  the  Mohammedan  possessions  in  Lusitania. 
In  the  spring  of  T055  he  passed  the  Duero,  the  Tonnes  at  Sala- 
manca, and  entered  by  way  of  Almeida.  The  first  place  which  he 
reduced  was  Cea ;  he  next  seized,  one  by  one.  the  fortresses  in  the 
vicinity,   obtained   great   plunder   and    numerous   captives,    and   in 


142  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1058-1068 

1057  he  took  the  important  cities  of  Viseo  and  Lamego.  To  ac- 
quire Coimbra  now  inllamed  his  ambition.  He  invested  the  place 
in  January,  1058  (not  even  the  rigors  of  v^inter  could  cool  his  zeal), 
and  obtained  it  by  capitulation  in  the  following  July.  He  had  thus 
conquered  the  whole  country  between  the  Duero  and  the  Mondegro, 
constituting  the  greater  portion  of  the  modern  province  of  Beira : 
north  of  the  latter  river  not  a  single  fortified  place  remained  de- 
pendent on  the  misbelievers. 

The  wars  of  Ferdinand  in  other  parts  were  not  less  signal.  He 
extended  the  boundary  of  Castile  from  the  Duero  almost  to  the 
gates  of  Alcade  de  Henares,  and  would  no  doubt  have  taken  both 
that  city  and  even  Madrid  had  not  the  king  of  Toledo  become  his 
vassal  and  paid  him  tribute.  He  even  carried  his  hostile  irruptions 
into  Valencia  and  Andalusia,  but  derived  little  advantage  from 
them,  if  we  except  the  relics  of  St.  Isidore,  which  he  compelled  the 
king  of  Seville  to  surrender  to  him.  In  his  last  expedition,  while 
under  the  walls  of  Valencia,  he  was  assailed  by  a  sickness  which  he 
knew  would  be  fatal :  he  was,  therefore,  forced  to  abandon  the 
siege   and  return  to  Leon. 

The  last  days  of  this  great  king  were  wholly  occupied  in  de- 
votional exercises.  Thus  died  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  princes 
that  ever  swayed  the  Christian  scepter  in  Spain.  His  enduring 
conquests,  his  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  his  people,  his  generosity  of 
mind,  his  care  of  religion,  his  liberality  towards  its  ministers, 
his  charity  towards  the  poor,  his  humility  of  deportment,  and  his 
piety,  cause  him  to  be  regarded  as  a  model  both  for  kings  and  pri- 
vate individuals.  To  Sancho,  the  eldest  of  his  sons,  he  left  the 
kingdom  of  Castile;  to  Alfonso,  the  most  beloved  of  his  children, 
those  of  the  Asturias  and  Leon ;  and  to  Garcia,  Galicia,  which  then 
extended  into  Lusitania  as  far  as  the  Duero. 

Alfonso  VI.  of  Leon  and  Sancho  II.  of  Castile  appear  to  have 
lived  in  tranquillity  with  each  other  during  two  years  after  their 
father's  death, — a  longer  period  than  might  have  been  expected 
from  their  mutual  jealousies  and  their  proneness  to  war.  In  1068 
Sancho  assumed  the  assailant  and  defeated  his  brother  on  the  banks 
of  the  Pisucrga.  Alfonso  himself  was  taken  prisoner,  but  owed 
his  life  to  the  intercession  of  his  sister  Urraca. 

The  possession  of  two  states  did  not  satisfy  the  ambition  of 
Sancho,  who,  as  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  king,  aspired  to  the  wliole 
of  his  kingdom, — to  Galicia  and  Portugal,  as  well  as  the  cities  of 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      143 

1072-1109 

Zamora  and  Toro.  In  a  battle  fought  at  Santarem  he  is  said  to 
have  defeated,  and  it  is  added  that  he  afterwards  dethroned,  Don 
Garcia;  but  the  probability  is  that  he  allowed  his  brother  to  retain 
possession  of  the  throne,  on  the  condition  of  homage  and  tribute. 
All  that  we  certainly  know  is  that  in  1072  the  king  was  assassinated 
before  the  place  by  a  Castilian  knight,  Vellido  Dolfos, — probably  at 
the  instigation  of  Dofia  Urraca.  Thus  fell  Sancho  the  Brave,  after 
a  reign  of  near  seven  years  in  Castile  and  two  in  Leon. 

When  news  of  this  catastrophe  reached  Toledo,  Alfonso  se- 
cretly left  the  capital, — for  he  was  not  without  his  suspicions  (prob- 
ably well  grounded)  that  his  departure  would  be  prevented  by  his 
host, — and  went  to  Zamora.  There,  chiefly  through  the  activity 
of  his  sister,  many  thousands  resorted — Leonnese,  Castilians,  and 
Galicians — to  see  and  acknowledge  him.  Having  taken  possession 
of  Leon  and  Castile,  he  invited  his  brother  of  Galicia,  Don  Garcia, 
to  his  court,  and  immediately  confined  that  prince  in  the  castle  of 
Luna.  There  the  latter  passed  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  de- 
prived, indeed,  of  his  liberty,  but  in  other  respects  treated  with  royal 
magnificence. 

Undisturbed  master  of  the  Asturias,  Leon,  Galicia,  and  Castile, 
Alfonso  was  watchful  to  extend  his  conquests.  His  first  expedition, 
in  1074,  was  in  defense  of  his  host,  the  king  of  Toledo,  against 
whom  the  king  of  Cordova  was  advancing.  The  last-named  ruler 
being  expelled  from  the  territories  of  Toledo,  and  pursued  even 
to  the  gates  of  his  capital,  Alfonso  carried  his  arms  into  Portugal, 
reduced  Coria,  and  rendered  many  of  the  Mohammedan  governors 
of  that  country,  even  south  of  the  Mondego,  his  tributaries.  But 
his  most  important  wars  were  directed  against  the  kingdom 
of  Toledo  (his  host  had  died  in  the  interim  within  the  walls  of 
Seville). 

In  1083  he  formally  invested  that  important  capital,  which 
after  a  siege  of  two  years  capitulated. 

As  the  other  wars  of  Alfonso  with  the  Mohammedans  need 
not  be  repeated  here,  there  is  little  during  the  rest  of  his  reign  to 
strike  the  attention.  Alfonso  died  in  nog.  As  his  only  son,  Don 
Sancho,  had  fallen  in  battle  with  the  Almoravides,  he  left  to  his 
eldest  daughter  Urraca,  now  either  wndow  of  Raymond  or  very 
recently  married  to  Alfonso  I.,  king  of  Aragon  and  Navarre,  the 
crowns  of  Leon  and  Castile;  and  to  their  son  Alfonso  Raymond  the 
U^rdship  of  Galicia,  as  an  hereditary  fief.     Had  his  son  been  spared, 


144  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1109-1126 

the  power  of  his  states  would  have  been  consohdated,  and  Christian 
Spain  made  more  able  to  contend  with  the  formidable  Moors. 

Urraca,  queen  of  Castile  and  Leon,  did  not  long  remain  even 
on  tolerable  terms  with  her  husband,  Alfonso  L,  who  had  been 
associated  with  her  in  the  government.  Whether  it  was  owing  to 
her  disposition,  which  was  evidently  overbearing  and  even  tyranni- 
cal, or  to  her  conduct,  which  is  known  to  have  been  imprudent  and 
is  supposed  to  have  been  criminal,  the  two  sovereigns  soon  came 
to  an  open  misunderstanding.  The  Castilians  naturally  espoused 
the  cause  of  their  queen — not  so  much  from  attachment  to  her 
person  as  from  hatred  of  the  Aragonese  yoke.  But  Alfonso  had 
possession  of  many  fortresses,  which  he  hastened  to  defend.  The 
first  battle  between  him  and  Diego  Gomez,  the  queen's  paramour, 
happened  on  the  26th  day  of  October,  mi,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sepulveda.  The  king  was  victorious,  Don  Diego,  the  general, 
being  left  dead  in  the  field.  But  the  queen  appears  soon  to  have 
consoled  herself  for  the  loss  of  one  lover  by  another,  if,  indeed,  she 
did  not  possess  both  at  the  same  time.  His  place  was  supplied  by 
Don  Pedro  de  Lara,  by  whom  she  is  known  to  have  had  issue. 

After  this  victory  King  Alfonso  took  undisputed  possession 
of  Burgos,  Palencia,  Coria,  Sahagun,  and  even  Leon,  He  is  ac- 
cused of  having  committed  atrocities  during  his  march  worthy  only 
of  the  fierce  Almohades,  but  accusations  made  by  rancorous  oppon- 
ents cannot  be  received  with  too  much  caution.  However  this  may 
be,  the  supporters  of  the  Aragonian  king  gradually  fell  from  him, 
and  he  left  the  kingdom  to  turn  his  arms  against  the  jMohammedans 
of  his  neighborhood. 

The  retreat  of  Alfonso  did  not  restore  peace  to  the  lacerated 
state.  Though  the  queen  recovered  the  fortresses  which  still  held 
for  him,  her  unbridled  passions,  and  her  conduct — a  mixture  at 
once  of  rashness  and  pusillanimity — created  enemies  on  every  side. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  tranquil  possession  of  Leon  and  Castile,  she 
aspired  to  that  of  Galicia;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  partisans  of 
her  son,  disgusted  with  her  character  and  actions,  were  anxious  to 
dethrone  her  and  place  their  favorite  in  her  room.  Several  towns 
of  the  kingdom,  indeed,  declared  for  the  young  prince ;  and  on  one 
occasion  her  paramour  was  seized  by  two  Castilian  nobles  and  con- 
fined in  the  castle  of  Mansilla.  The  internal  state  of  the  country, 
which  was  alternately  ravaged  by  the  hostile  parties,  was  horrible. 
In  fact,  her  reign  was  one  uninterrupted   succession  of  troubles, 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      145 

1126-1157 

most  of  which  were  justly  imputable  to  herself.  At  length,  in  1126. 
she  ended  her  stormy  and  disastrious  life,  to  the  universal  relief  of 
her  people.  She  left  to  posterity  a  character  darkened  by  many 
crimes,  and  scarcely  redeemed  by  a  single  virtue. 

Alfonso  VII.,  usually  styled  the  Emperor,  who  inherited  the 
crowns  of  Castile  and  Leon,  after  silencing  a  few  of  his  turbulent 
nobles,  directed  his  first  efforts  to  the  recovery  of  certain  fortresses 
still  held  in  Castile  by  the  king  of  Aragon.  His  arms  ere  long 
found  a  fitting  enemy  in  the  Mohammedans,  over  whom  he  re- 
peatedly and  gloriously  triumphed.  On  the  death  of  Alfonso  I.,  in 
1 134,  in  an  unfortunate  action  against  them,  his  dominions  were 
rescued  from  ravage  by  the  seasonable  advance  of  his  brother  of 
Castile  and  Leon,  who  forced  the  misbelievers  to  retire.  But  the 
latter  sovereign  appears  to  have  been  actuated  by  other  motives  than 
generosity  in  affording  this  prompt  succor.  Najera,  Calahorra, 
Tarrazona,  and  even  Saragossa,  omitting  many  minor  places,  which 
opened  their  gates  to  him,  as  the  ally  of  their  sovereign  Ramiro 
the  Monk,  he  evidently  considered  as  his  conquests;  nor  would  he 
resign  them  to  the  new  king,  except  as  fiefs :  he  endeavored  even  to 
procure  the  recognition  of  his  superiority  over  the  whole  kingdom 
of  Aragon,  but  in  vain.  The  new  king  of  Navarre,  however,  did 
him  homage, — doubtless  to  procure  his  aid  against  Ramiro,  who 
wished  to  reunite  that  kingdom  with  Aragon. 

In  1 140  Alfonso  entered  into  an  iniquitous  alliance  with  the 
successor  of  Ramiro  (Raymond,  count  of  Barcelona,  who  had  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Ramiro),  in  which  both  princes  agreed  to  con- 
quer and  divide  Navarre  between  them.  But  Don  Garcia  was  not 
to  be  easily  crushed.  Before  the  two  kings  could  unite  their  forces, 
he  obtained  a  signal  triumph  over  Raymond,  and  even  afterwards 
compelled  his  imperial  enemy  to  make  peace  with  him.  The  alliance 
was  still  further  cemented,  in  1144,  by  the  marriage  of  Garcia  with 
a  natural  daughter  of  Alfonso ;  and  of  Sancho,  one  of  Alfonso's 
sons,  with  a  princess  of  Navarre.  The  new  king  of  Portugal,  too, 
who  appears  to  have  been  the  ally  of  Garcia,  and  who  made  several 
irruptions  into  Galicia,  not  only  defended  his  independence,  but 
obtained  successes  over  the  Mohammedans  as  solid  as  they  were 
splendid. 

In  his  hostilities  against  the  mutual  enemies  of  his  country  and 
faith,  Alfonso  was  more  fortunate;  by  him,  and  his  ally  of  Aragon, 
the  Christian  frontier  was  removed  from  the  Tagus  to  the  Sierre 


146  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1157-1181 

Morena :  he  rendered  tributary  the  Moorish  governors  of  several 
places  in  Andalusia,  as  Baeza  and  Andujar.  His  last  battle,  de- 
livered in  1 157,  against  the  Cid  Yussef,  son  of  Abdelmumen,  em- 
peror of  the  Almohades,  was  indecisive.  Immediately  after  the 
action  he  set  out  on  his  return  to  his  own  dominions,  but  death 
surprised  him  in  the  village  of  Fresnada,  near  the  port  of  Muradal, 
one  of  the  great  openings  through  the  mountainous  chain  which 
separates  Andalusia  from  New  Castile.  Though  he  lost  Portugal 
and  was  unable  to  withstand  the  genius  of  his  namesake  of  Aragon, 
whom  he  imitated  in  assuming  the  imperial  title,  yet  with  fewer 
pretensions,  he,  nevertheless,  caused  his  territory  to  be  respected 
by  his  Christian  neighbors,  and  greatly  aggrandized  it  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Mohammedans.  His  talents,  however,  were  inferior 
to  his  ambition,  and  his  moderation  to  both. 

Ferdinand  H,,  king  of  Leon,  and  Sancho  HL,  king  of  Castile, 
ascended  the  throne  in  the  wise  resolution  of  obsen-ing  peace  with 
each  other,  and  thereby  averting  the  evils  generally  resulting  from 
divided  power.  Of  the  latter  little  more  is  known  than  that  he 
waged  a  short  but  successful  war  against  the  king  of  Navarre,  who 
aspired  to  the  possession  of  Rioja ;  that  his  generals  were  also  tri- 
umphant over  the  Moors ;  that  he  died  at  Toledo  about  a  year  after 
his  accession  (1158),  and  was  succeeded  by  his  infant  son  Alfonso. 

The  minority  of  Alfonso  VHL  of  Castile,  who,  on  his  father's 
death,  was  no  more  than  three  years  of  age,  was  one  of  troubles ; 
these  were  chiefly  occasioned  by  the  two  powerful  families  of  the 
Castros  and  Laras,  who  each  contended  for  the  guardianship  of  the 
royal  infant,  and,  consequently,  for  the  direction  of  affairs.  For- 
tunately, however,  these  ruinous  contentions  ceased  on  the  marriage 
of  Alfonso,  in  11 70,  with  the  Princess  Eleanor,  daughter  of  the 
]inglish  Henry  11.  From  that  day  the  young  king  exercised  the 
sovereign  power  without  control. 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand  II.  of  Leon  was  one  of  unceasing 
activity:  sometimes  at  war  with  the  Moors,  sometimes  with  his 
nephew  of  Castile,  and  now  with  the  sovereign  of  Portugal,  he 
seemed  to  exist  only  amidst  bustle.  The  results  of  these  wars  were 
too  indecisive,  and  their  details  too  uninteresting,  to  require  more 
than  a  very  general  notice.  He  recovered  Badajoz,  which  the 
king  of  Portugal  had  reduced,  took  Caceres  from  the  Moors,  and 
more  than  once  triumphed  over  the  generals  of  Yussef,  the  African 
emperor.     On  the  whole,  however,  this  period  was  unfavorable  to 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND    CASTILE       147 

1188-1197 

the  Christian  arms :  the  tributary  governors  of  Andahisia  had 
thrown  off  their  forced  allegiance  at  the  death  of  the  emperor 
Alfonso;  Portugal  had  been  signally  humbled;  and  the  united 
forces  of  Castile  and  Aragon  more  than  once  retreated  before  the 
formidable  Almohades.  It  was  to  repress  the  never-ceasing  incur- 
sions of  the  Mohammedans,  as  w^ell  as  to  return  these  incursions 
with  interest,  that,  in  the  time  of  Ferdinand  two  military  orders, 
those  of  Calatrava  and  Santiago,  were  mstituted. 

Ferdinand  died  in  1188,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Alfonso 
IX.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  king  was  to  continue  the 
good  understanding  which  had  for  some  time  subsisted  between  his 
father  and  his  cousin  of  Castile.  By  the  hands  of  Alfonso  VIII.  he 
received  the  honor  of  knighthood,  and  accompanied  that  prince  in 
an  expedition  against  the  Africans.  That  good  understanding, 
indeed,  was  sometimes  interrupted.  As  early  as  1189  the  two 
princes  appear  to  have  quarreled  respecting  the  possession  of  some 
unimportant  conquests  in  Estremadura,  which,  from  having  been 
made  by  their  united  amis,  ought  in  justice  to  have  been  divided 
between  them,  but  which  the  sovereign  of  Castile  claimed  for  him- 
self. The  king  of  Leon,  feeling  that  he  was  no  match  single- 
handed  for  the  Castilian, — during  the  late  reigns  this  kingdom  had 
been  too  powerful  for  its  northern  neighbor, — contracted  a  close 
alliance  with  his  uncle,  Sancho  I.  of  Portugal,  whose  daughter,  the 
Princess  Theresa,  he  took  to  wife.  As  the  parties  were  within  the 
degree  of  affinity  proscribed  by  the  canon  law,  Pope  Celestine  III. 
dispatched  Cardinal  Gregory  into  Spain  to  enforce  the  dissolution 
of  the  marriage.  In  vain  did  Alfonso  send  an  episcopal  ambassador 
to  Rome  to  procure  a  reversal  of  the  sentence  and  a  dispensation 
for  removing  the  bar  of  consanguinity.  The  pontiff  was  inexorable : 
so  also,  for  a  considerable  time,  were  Alfonso  and  his  queen.  It 
was  not  until  the  year  1195  that  they  consented  to  separate. 

This  was  not  the  only  instance  in  which  the  king  of  Leon  was 
opposed  in  his  policy  or  affections  by  the  successors  of  St.  Peter. 
After  the  defeat  of  Alfonso  of  Castile  in  1195.  by  Aben  Yussef, 
on  the  plains  of  Alarcos,  the  intemperate  language  of  that  prince 
to  his  ally  of  Leon,  who  was  advancing  to  his  assistance,  led,  as 
before  related,  to  a  war  between  tlic  two  kings,  who  ultimately  laid 
waste  each  other's  dominions.  When,  in  1197,  ^^'^^y  ^^''^t  each  at 
the  head  of  a  formidable  army,  the  nobles  and  prelates  of  both,  con- 
vinced how  fatal  to  the  Christian  cause  such  contests  might  become, 


148  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1197-1214 

especially  considering  the  enterprising  character  of  the  African 
emperor,  anxiously  sought  the  means  of  a  permanent  reconciliation. 
It  was  at  length  agreed  that  the  king  of  Leon  should  marry  Beren- 
garia,  daughter  of  the  king  of  Castile,  and,  by  her  mother  Eleanor, 
nearly  connected  with  the  English  royal  house  of  Plantagenet. 
Though  the  marriage  had  been  solemnly  celebrated  at  Valladolid, 
amidst  the  rejoicing  of  a  whole  people,  Innocent  loudly  demanded 
the  separation  of  the  parties,  and  dispatched  a  legate  with  instruc- 
tions to  lay  an  interdict  on  the  kingdoms  of  Leon  and  Castile  if  this 
demand  were  not  satisfied.  The  legate  appears  to  have  been  more 
reasonable  than  his  intolerant  master,  for,  on  perceiving  how  vitally 
the  welfare  of  the  two  states  would  be  affected  by  the  nullity  of  the 
marriage,  and  the  tender  affection  borne  by  Alfonso  towards  the 
new  queen,  he  suspended  the  execution  of  his  instructions  until  a 
powerful  representation  of  these  facts  were  laid  before  the  pope  in 
person.  Innocent,  like  his  predecessor,  was  obstinate — doubtless 
because,  as  he  had  not  been  previously  consulted,  he  wished  to  show 
that  the  power  of  the  church  was  not  to  be  resisted  even  by  kings. 
Alfonso  was  equally  so — particularly  as  the  birth  of  a  son  opened 
a  prospect  of  the  union  of  the  two  crowns,  should  that  son's  legiti- 
macy be  undisputed.  In  1204,  however,  the  resistance  of  the  royal 
pair  began  to  give  way,  and  they  consented  to  separate,  on  the  con- 
dition that  the  legitimacy  of  their  children  were  acknowledged  both 
by  the  pope  and  the  states  of  Leon.  Innocent  did  not  hesitate  to 
comply  with  the  request,  and,  in  a  convocation  of  those  states,  Ferdi- 
nand, the  eldest  of  their  children,  was  recognized  as  successor  to  the 
throne  of  his  father. 

The  declared  nullity  of  the  marriage  was  followed  by  a  war — 
desultory,  indeed,  but  not  the  less  vexatious — between  the  two 
Alfonsos :  the  cause  seems  to  have  been  the  refusal  of  the  Castilian 
to  surrender  some  fortresses  which  had  been  given  as  dowry  by  the 
king  of  Leon,  the  restoration  of  which  he  had  a  right  to  demand 
on  his  separation  from  Berengaria.  Peace  was  at  length  obtained, 
through  the  mediation  of  the  pope,  and  still  more  through  the  appre- 
hensions felt  by  the  Castilian  on  the  approaching  invasion  of  his 
states  by  IMohammed  ben  Yacub,  emperor  of  the  Almohadcs.  whose 
preparations  resounded  throughout  Eurojie.  How  nobly  Alfonso 
VIII.,  on  the  plains  of  Tolosa,  in  1212.,  axcngcd  his  defeat  of  1195 
on  those  of  Alarcon  lias  alrcad}'  l)cen  related. 

Alfonso  YIII.  of  Castile  did  not  Urau"  sur\i\e  this  i/loriDUS  tri- 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND    CASTILE       149 

1214-1217 

umph.  After  two  hostile  irruptions  into  the  territories  of  the 
enemy,  he  died  in  12 14,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  only  surviving 
son,  Enrique  L  As  the  new  king,  however,  was  only  in  his  eleventh 
year,  the  regency  was  intrusted  to  his  sister  Berengaria,  the  most 
excellent  princess  of  her  age.  But  neither  her  wisdom,  her  vir- 
tues, nor  the  near  relation  she  held  to  the  infante,  could  avail  her 
with  the  fierce  nobles  of  Castile.  The  house  of  Lara,  whose  unprin- 
cipled ambition  had  on  a  former  occasion  been  productive  of  such 
evils  to  the  state,  again  became  the  scourge  of  the  country.  Under 
the  pretense  that  a  woman  was  unfitted  to  discharge  the  office  of 
guardian,  the  nobles  of  that  house  insisted  on  the  custody  of  the 
royal  ward  being  given  to  Count  Alvaro  Nunez  de  Lara,  the  chief 
of  that  turbulent  family. 

No  sooner  was  Don  Alvaro  in  possession  of  the  regency  than 
he  exhibited  the  true  features  of  his  character — haughtiness, 
rapacity,  tyranny,  and  revenge.  Those  wdiom  he  knew  to  be 
obnoxious  to  his  party  he  imprisoned  or  confiscated  their  posses- 
sions. His  exactions  fell  on  all  orders  of  the  state.  The  remon- 
strances of  the  Queen  Berengaria  were  treated  with  equal  con- 
tempt; to  render  her  odious  to  the  people,  he  fabricated  letters  as 
if  written  by  her  to  procure  by  poison  the  death  of  her  brother,  but 
the  opposite  characters  of  the  two  were  so  well  understood  that 
the  imposture  deceived  no  one  individual.  Thus  Alvaro  continued 
his  iniquitous  career,  running  from  place  to  place  with  the  young 
king,  destroying  the  habitations  and  confiscating  the  substance  of 
such  as  dared  to  censure  his  measures.  But  an  accident,  as  unex- 
pected as  its  consequences  were  fortunate  for  Spain,  deranged  all 
his  views.  Towards  the  end  of  INIay,  1217,  while  Enrique  was 
playing  with  his  young  companions  in  the  courtyard  of  the  episcopal 
palace  of  Palencia,  a  tile  from  the  roof  of  the  tower  fell  on  his 
head  and  inflicted  a  wound  of  which  he  died  on  the  6th  of  June 
following.  Knowing  how  fatally  this  event  must  affect  his  inter- 
ests, Don  Alvaro,  with  the  intention  of  concealing  it  as  long  as  he 
could,  conveyed  the  royal  corpse  as  the  living  prince  to  the  fortress 
of  Tariego :  but  the  intelligence  soon  reached  the  queen,  who,  on 
this  critical  occasion,  displayed  a  prudence  and  promptitude  justly 
entitled  to  admiration.  By  the  laws  of  Castile  she  was  now  heiress 
to  the  crown,  but  she  resolved  to  transfer  her  rights  to  her  son 
Ferdinand,  heir  to  the  crown  of  Leon,  and  thereby  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion  for  the  union  of  the  two  kin^-doms.     Good   ft)rtune    at  this 


150  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1217-1230 

juncture  favored  the  queen,  for  all  remembered  that  during  the 
reign  of  her  father  she  had  been  declared  heiress  to  the  throne, 
in  case  she  survived  her  brother,  and  that  prince  died  without  issue. 
The  states  eagerly  hastened  to  Valladolid  and  swore  allegiance  to 
her  as  their  lawful  sovereign.  Immediately  afterwards  a  stage 
was  erected  at  the  entrance  of  the  city,  and  there,  on  the  31st  day 
of  August,  1 2 17, — nearly  three  months  from  the  death  of  Enrique, — 
the  (lueen.  in  presence  of  her  barons,  prelates,  and  people,  solemnly 
resigned  the  sovereignty  into  the  hands  of  her  son,  who  was  imme- 
diately proclaimed  king  of  Castile. 

But  r'erdinand  III.  was  not  yet  in  peaceable  possession  of  the 
crown :  he  had  to  reduce  the  towns  which  held  for  Don  Alvaro, 
and.  what  was  still  worse,  to  withstand  his  father,  the  king  of 
Leon,  who  now  invaded  the  kingdom.  Aided  by  the  party  of  that 
restless  traitor,  Alfonso  aspired  to  the  sovereignty:  he  marched 
on  Burgos,  which  had  just  acknowledged  his  son,  and,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  entreaties  of  the  clergy — in  all  countries  the  uniform 
friends  of  legitimacy  and  order, — he  laid  waste  the  domains  of  that 
son's  adherents.  The  Castilian  nobles  were  not  slow  in  combining 
for  the  defense  of  their  king :  they  hastened  to  Burgos  in  such  num- 
bers and  were  animated  by  such  a  spirit  that  Alfonso,  despairing  of 
success  or  touched  by  the  more  honorable  feelings  of  nature  and 
justice,  desisted  from  his  enterprise.  Alvaro  Nunez  de  Lara  ended 
his  unprincipled  life  in  disgrace  and  poverty  in  1219. 

Tranquillity  being  thus  restored,  the  kings  of  Leon  and  Castile 
prepared  to  commence  an  exterminating  war  against  the  Moham- 
medans. Though  partial  irruptions,  generally  attended  with  suc- 
cess, were  made  into  tlie  territories  of  the  Moors  from  various 
parts, — from  Aragon,  Castile,  Leon,  and  Portugal, — it  was  not 
until  1225  that  the  career  of  conquest  commenced  which  ended  in 
the  annihilation  both  of  the  African  power  and  of  all  the  petty 
kingdoms  which  arose  on  its  ruins.  In  that  and  the  two  following 
years  ]\lurcia  was  invaded,  Alhambra  taken,  and  Jaen  besieged 
by  I'erdinand.  Valencia  invaded  by  King  Jayme  of  xAragon,  Badajoz 
taken  by  Alfonso,  and  Elvas  by  the  king  of  Portugal.  The  king 
C)i  Castile  v\as  present  before  Jaen,  which  his  armies  had  invested 
two  wliolc  years,  when  intelligence  reached  him  of  his  fathers 
death,  in  1230.  after  a  successful  irruption  into  Estremadura. 

'1  he  inestimable  advantage  which  this  event  was  calculated 
to  procure  for  Christian  Spain,— the  consolidation  of  two  kingdoms 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND    CASTILE       151 

1230-1248 

often  hostile  to  each  other, — was  near  being  lost.  In  his  last  will 
Alfonso  named  his  two  daughters, — for  the  kingdom  had  long 
ceased  to  be  elective, — joint  heiresses  of  his  states.  The  motives 
which  could  urge  that  sovereign  to  the  repetition  of  an  error  so  long 
and  so  fatally  felt,  we  should  vainly  inquire :  it  may,  however,  be 
supposed  that  many  nobles  of  the  more  ancient  kingdom  were 
unwilling  to  see  it  merged  in  the  more  modern  though  more  power- 
ful one  of  Castile.  Fortunately  for  Spain,  the  majority  of  the 
Leonnese  took  a  sounder  viev/  of  their  interests  than  Alfonso — • 
Leon,  Astorga,  Oviedo,  Lugo,  Alondohedo.  Salamanca,  Ciudad, 
Rodrigo,  and  Coria  declared  for  Ferdinand.  Though  Compos- 
tella.  Tuy,  and  Zamora  espoused  the  cause  of  the  infantas,  and 
though  the  Count  Diego  Dias  attempted  to  strengthen  their  party 
even  in  Leon  itself  by  force  of  arms,  nobles,  clergy,  and  people 
were  too  numerous  in  favor  of  the  king  of  Castile  to  leave  those 
princesses  the  remotest  chance  of  success.  No  sooner  did  that 
prince  hear  how  powerful  a  party  supported  his  just  pretensions 
than  he  hastened  from  Andalusia  into  Leon.  As  he  advanced, 
accompanied  by  his  mother  Berengaria, — a  princess  to  whose  wis- 
dom he  was  indebted  for  most  of  his  success, — Avila,  Medina  del 
Campo,  Tordesillas,  and  Toro  opened  their  gates  to  him.  Directing 
his  course  towards  Leon,  Villalon,  ]\Iayorga,  and  Mansilla  imitated 
the  example  of  the  other  towns.  As  he  approached  the  capital  he 
was  met  by  the  bishops  and  clergy,  the  nobles,  and  the  people  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  kingdom,  who  escorted  him  in  triumph  to 
the  cathedral,  where  he  received  their  homage.  Thus,  two  hun- 
dred years  from  their  first  meeting,  tlie  goodly  kingdoms  of  Leon 
and  Castile  were  again  and  forever  joined.  The  king  visited  the 
towns  of  his  new  possession,  administering  justice  and  receiving 
the  homage  of  his  subjects. 

Ferdinand  IIL,  now  lord  of  S])ain  from  tlie  Bay  of  Biscay 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  Guadalquivir,  and  from  the  confines  of  Portugal 
to  those  of  Aragon  and  Valencia,  put  into  execution  his  long  medi- 
tated schemes  of  conquest.  Alfonso  the  emperor,  indeed,  some- 
wliat  more  than  a  century  preceding,  had  possessed  an  equal  extent 
of  territory,  but  at  that  time  the  Christian  kings  were  not,  as  now, 
at  peace  with  each  other,  nor  animated  by  the  same  hope  of  suc- 
cess in  their  wars  with  the  Aloliammcdans.  ITow  Ferdinand,  in 
1233,  triumphed  over  Aben  Flud,  king  of  Murcia,  Granada,  Cor- 
dova, ]\Ierida,  and  Seville;  how,  from  that  year  to  1248,  he  succes- 


15a  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

^'^'*'  1252-1254 

sivcly  obtained  possession  of  Toledo,  Cordova,  the  whole  of  Murcia, 
jaen,  and  Seville,  have  been  related  sufficiently  at  length  on  a 
former   occasion. 

If  we  except  these  wars,  there  is  little  in  the  remainder  of 
Ferdinand's  life  to  occupy  our  attention.  Being  seized,  the  begin- 
ning of  1252,  with  a  dropsy  at  Seville,  he  prepared  for  his  approach- 
ing end  by  extraordinary  acts  of  an  austere  devotion.  His  last 
advice  to  his  son  and  successor  Alfonso,  on  whom  he  strongly  incul- 
cated the  eternal  obligations  of  justice  and  mercy,  did  credit  to  him 
alike  as  a  sovereign  and  a  man.  Having  caused  the  ensigns  of 
majesty  to  be  removed  from  his  presence,  bid  a  tender  adieu  to  his 
family  and  friends,  and  fortified  himself  for  his  great  journey  by 
the  sacraments  of  the  church,  he  breathed  his  last,  May  30,  1252, 
amidst  the  lamentations  of  all  Seville. 

Alfonso  X.,  surnamed  El  Sahio,  or  the  Learned,^  the  eldest 
son  of  the  deceased  Ferdinand,  ascended  the  thrones  of  Castile  and 
Leon  with  every  prospect  of  a  happy  reign,  yet  few  were  ever  more 
unfortunate. 

The  first  design  of  Alfonso  was  to  carry  the  war  into  Africa, 
in  pursuance  with  his  father's  recent  preparations,  but  he  wisely 
desisted  from  the  undertaking.  But  he  was  not  without  ambition : 
if  he  abandoned  one  enterprise,  it  was  only  with  the  view  of  prose- 
cuting another.  Fie  cast  a  longing  eye  on  Gascony,  then  in  the 
possession  of  the  English  Henry  HL,  which  had  been  promised  as 
a  marriage  portion  to  Alfonso  of  Castile,  father  of  St.  Ferdinand, 
but  which  had  never  been  occupied  by  that  sovereign.  Its  con- 
quest by  the  English  seemed  to  place  it  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
new  king,  but  as  the  English  monarch  had  assumed  the  cross,  with 
the  intention  of  visiting  the  Holy  Land,  and  as  he  wished  to  pacify 
the  province  before  his  departure,  he  proposed,  by  his  ambassadors, 
to  marry  his  son  Edward  with  Eleanor,  sister  of  the  Castilian  king; 
and  that  the  young  prince  should  receive  as  dowry  with  her  the 
al)solute  surrender  of  all  the  Castilian's  rights  over  the  disputed 
territory,  togetlicr  with  the  duchies  of  Ponthieu  and  Montreuil. 
The  proposal  was  readily  accepted  by  Alfonso,  who,  to  unite  the 
two  crowns  still  closer,  demanded  Beatrix,  a  daughter  of  the 
Plantagcnct,  for  one  of  his  brothers.  In  pursuance  with  this  treaty, 
Edward  left  Gascony  and  was  met  at  Burgos  by  Alfonso  and  the 
whole  Castilian  court.     He  was  entertained  w-ith  great  magnifi- 

-  U.Mially,  but  very  inexactly,  termed  the  Wise. 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      153 

1254-1270 

cence  by  the  king,  at  whose  hands  he  received  the  honor  of  knight- 
hood. The  marriage  was  solemnized  with  great  pomp  about  the 
end  of  October,  1254,  in  the  monastery  of  the  Huelgas.  Edward 
soon  after  returned  with  his  bride  to  England. 

The  pretensions  of  Alfonso  over  Suabia,  to  which  he  aspired 
in  right  of  his  mother  Beatrix,  daughter  of  Philip,  duke  of  Suabia 
and  emperor  of  Germany,  were  not  so  satisfactorily  settled :  they  led 
indeed  to  many  of  the  misfortunes  which  afflicted  his  reign.  His 
pretensions  were  at  first  supported  by  Pope  Alexander  IV. ;  hence, 
Alfonso  aspired  to  the  imperial  dignity,  and  lavished  his  wealth 
for  a  purpose  evidently  unattainable.  Though  elected  by  one  party, 
another  and  more  powerful  one  gave  their  suffrages  to  Richard,  earl 
of  Cornwall,  brother  to  the  English  king,  Henry  TIL :  in  reality, 
neither  election  was  legitimate.  Hence  the  contest  which  so  long 
distracted  Germany  and  Italy,  and  the  sums  which  Alfonso  exacted 
from  his  kingdoms  to  support  the  validity  of  his  election.  In  1273 
the  choice,  as  is  well  known,  fell  on  Rodolph,  count  of  Hapsburg: 
it  was  all  but  unanimous,  since  Ottocar  of  Bohemia  was  the  only 
member  of  the  confederation  who  maintained  the  validity  of  the 
king  of  Castile's  former  election. 

It  can  be  no  matter  of  surprise  that  the  states  of  Alfonso  should 
murmur  at  his  expensive  follies,  or  that  he  should  become  somewhat 
unpopular  with  his  subjects.  Another  complaint  of  his  nobles  was 
that  in  marrying  his  natural  daughter,  Beatrix  de  Guzman,  to  Al- 
fonso II.  of  Portugal  he  had  resigned  to  that  prince  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Algraves.  These  circumstances  were  eagerly  seized  by  some 
discontented  barons,  who,  under  the  plea  of  the  public  good,  formed 
a  party  intended  to  compel  the  king  into  wiser  measures,  but  whose 
real  objects  were  purely  selfish.  Some  time,  indeed,  elapsed  before 
they  proceeded  to  open  rebellion,  though  they  assembled  in  arms, 
first  at  Lara  in  1270  and  subsequently  at  Palencia.  Instead  of 
marching  without  a  moment's  loss  of  time  to  reduce  them  by  force, 
the  king  had  the  weakness  to  treat  with  them.  He  promised  that 
if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms  and  make  their  complaints  known 
to  him.  he  would  endeavor  to  redress  such  as  he  should  find  reason- 
able. But  their  demands  having  risen  with  his  iml^ecility  and  their 
own  prospect  of  impunity,  they  refused  to  disarm  until  he  had 
assembled  tlie  states  at  Burgos.  On  tliis  point,  too,  he  yielded; 
the  Cortes  were  accordingly  convoked. 

The  unexpected   facility  with  which  these  concessions   were 


154  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1272-1278 

made,  surprised  the  rebels  themselves  and  reduced  them  to  silence. 
After  some  deliberation,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  contending, 
under  present  circumstances,  with  one  whom  they  were  resolved 
not  to  obey,  they  agreed  to  forsake  the  kingdom  and  to  take  up 
their  abode  with  the  king  of  Granada.  They  remained  at  the 
Mohammedan  court  about  two  years,  from  1272  to  1274:  nor 
w(nil(l  they  return  to  Castile,  though  repeatedly  urged  by  the  king 
and  queen,  until  not  only  they  were  promised  a  restoration  of  their 
past  dignities,  but  the  concession  of  the  most  important  points  they 
had  demanded. 

During  the  absence  of  Alfonso,  in  1275,  on  a  fruitless  visit 
to  Pope  Gregory,  then  in  l^^rance,  respecting  his  pretensions  to  the 
empire,  and  during  the  existence  of  hostilities  with  the  Moors  both 
of  Spain  and  Africa,  died  the  infante  Ferdinand  de  la  Cerda, 
eldest  son  of  Alfonso,  and  consequently  heir  to  the  united  crowns 
of  Leon  and  Castile.  This  event  gave  rise  to  disputes  concerning 
the  succession.  By  the  Roman  law  the  two  sons  of  the  deceased 
prince  stood  the  nearest  in  relation  to  the  throne,  but  by  that  of 
the  Visigoths  the  more  immediate  proximity  of  the  second  son  was 
recognized.  To  decide  on  this  important  subject — whether  Spain 
should  follow  her  own  ancient  institutions  in  this  respect  or  adopt 
that  of  other  states — the  Cortes,  in  1276,  were  convoked  at  Segovia. 
That  body  decided  that  immediate  proximity  ought  to  prevail  over 
representation ;  in  other  words,  that  the  second  son,  as  being  but 
one  degree  removed  from  the  father,  should  be  preferred  to  the 
grandsons,  who  were  but  the  representatives  of  the  eldest  son  and 
were  two  degrees  distant;  the  infante  Don  Sancho  was  accordingly 
proclaimed  successor  to  the  throne.  The  popularity,  how'ever,  of 
Sancho,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  wars  with  the  Moors, 
and  the  tender  age  of  the  two  sons  of  Ferdinand,  had  probably 
more  weight  in  the  question  than  either  law  or  custom.  That 
Alfonso  himself,  who  was  no  mean  jurist,  was  not  ignorant  of  the 
legitimate  laws  of  succession,  is  evident  from  his  having  trans- 
ferred from  the  Justinian  Code  into  his  Siete  Partidas  the  very  law 
on  this  subject  in  operation  in  ancient  Rome  and  in  the  modern 
kingdoms  of  Etu'ope.  1lie  decision  of  the  Cortes  appears  to  have 
given  umbrage  to  Philip  of  France,  whose  sister  Blanche  was  the 
widow  of  the  (Icccascd  h^rdinand,  and  the  elder  of  whose  nephews 
he  justly  regarded  as  the  rightful  successor  to  Alfonso.  The  prin- 
cess, however,  with  the  infantes  and  the  queen  of  iVlfonso,  who 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      155 

1281-1283 

beheld  their  exclusion  with  indignation,  effected  their  escape  from 
Burgos,  and  were  received  by  the  king  of  Aragon,  War  was  now 
declared  by  France  against  Castile,  but  prevented  from  exploding 
by  the  interference  of  Pope  Nicholas  IIL  In  the  sequel  (in  1278) 
the  queen  of  Castile  returned  to  her  husband,  but  Blanche  proceeded 
to  the  court  of  her  brother ;  the  two  infantes  were  retained  in  Ara- 
gon, less  from  motives  of  humanity  or  of  justice  than  from  a  view  to 
embarrass  the  Castilian  government  whenever  the  opportunity 
should  arrive.  The  worst  feature  of  these  transactions  is  one, 
however,  that  is  wrapped  in  some  obscurity.  That  Prince  Fadrique 
was  put  to  death  by  order  of  his  own  brother,  Alfonso,  is  undoubted ; 
and  there  appears  reason  to  conclude  that  the  cause  was  the  implica- 
tion of  the  infante  in  the  flight  of  Blanche,  her  children,  and  the 
Castilian  queen. 

To  satisfy  the  continued  expostulations  of  France  respecting 
the  rights  of  the  infantes  de  la  Cerda,  in  the  Cortes  held  at  Seville 
in  1 28 1,  Alfonso  seriously  proposed  to  dismember  Murcia  from  his 
crown  in  favor  of  those  princes.  The  proposal  filled  Don  Sancho 
with  so  much  indignation  that  he  refused  to  attend  the  sittings. 
The  discontented  barons  and  deputies  cast  their  eyes  on  Sancho, 
from  whom  alone  they  could  expect  justice.  Seeing  the  almost 
universal  disaffection  of  the  people,  this  prince  aspired  to  wTest  the 
scepter  from  the  feeble  hands  wdiich  held  it.  In  vain  did  the  king 
endeavor  to  pacify  the  rebel  by  proposing  to  satisfy  all  his  de- 
mands ;  in  vain  did  he  apply  to  the  kings  of  Portugal,  Navarre,  and 
Aragon — Sancho  had  secured  the  neutrality  of  all  tliese.  Hopeless 
of  succeeding  in  Spain,  he  next  solicited  the  pope  to  excommunicate 
his  revolted  subjects.  At  first  the  pope  merely  wrote  to  the  grand 
masters  of  Santiago  and  Calatrava,  exhorting  them  to  eft'ect  a 
reconciliation  between  the  parties.  Amidst  universal  defection, 
seeing  that  Badajoz  and  Seville  were  the  only  important  places 
which  remained  in  their  allegiance,  while  the  rest  of  the  kingdom 
eagerly  acknowledged  Sancho,  the  incensed  king  assembled,  in 
1283,  ^^is  few  remaining  adherents  in  Seville,  and  in  a  solemn  act 
he  not  only  disinherited,  but  imprecated  his  deepest  maledictions 
on  the  head  of  his  rebellious  son.  In  the  same  act  he  instituted  the 
infantes  de  la  Cerda  as  his  heirs;  and  in  default  of  their  issue,  the 
kings  of  France.  The  pope  now  interfered  more  effectually  in 
behalf  of  Alfonso,  threatening  the  adherents  of  Sancho  with  ex- 
communication unless  they  immediately  returned  to  their  duty,  and 


156  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

^     "  1283-1286 

at  the  same  time  placing  an  interdict  on  the  kingdom.  Though 
the  troops  of  the  African  king  had  returned  home  in  disgust,  the 
cause  of  Alfonso  acquired  strength  from  day  to  day ;  his  other  sons, 
who  had  taken  part  with  Sancho,  returned  to  him;  nay,  even 
Sancho  himself,  seeing  the  revolutions  in  the  opinions  of  men, 
made  overtures  of  reconciliation.  That  such  a  reconciliation  would 
have  been  effected,  notwithstanding  the  strenuous  efforts  of  some 
wicked  courtiers  about  the  prince,  seems  certain;  but  Sancho  sud- 
denly fell  sick  and  was  conveyed  to  Salamanca.  The  latter  was 
soon  out  of  danger,  but  the  king  grew  worse,  until  the  5th  day  of 
April,  1284,  when  he  breathed  his  last.  He  did  not,  however, 
revoke  his  last  will. 

The  character  of  Alfonso  must  be  sufficiently  apparent  from 
his  actions.  It  may  be  added  that  his  acquirements  were  of  a 
very  superior  order.  The  Astronomical  Tables  which  he  com- 
posed, and  which  are  called  by  his  name,  have  been  often  adduced 
as  proofs  of  his  science.  It  is,  however,  certain,  that  in  their  con- 
struction he  was  greatly  indebted  to  the  IMoorish  astronomers  of 
Granada,  some  of  whom  visited  his  court  for  the  express  purpose 
of  superintending  if  not  of  calculating  them.  That  he  had  a  hand 
in  the  composition  of  the  Chronicle  wdiich  also  bears  his  name  is 
no  less  undoubted,  but  we  should  vainly  attempt  to  ascertain  the 
portion  issuing  from  his  own  pen.  In  the  compilation  of  the  Laws 
of  the  Partidas  from  the  Justinian  and  Visigothic  Codes  he  had  also 
a  share, — how  large  a  one  must  in  like  manner  remain  forever 
unknown.  On  the  whole,  it  may  be  said  of  him,  that,  like  the 
English  James  I.,  he  was  an  extraordinary  instance  of  weakness 
and  learning. 

Notwithstanding  the  testamentary  exclusion  of  his  eldest 
son  by  the  late  king,  the  states  of  the  kingdom  lost  no  time  in 
recognizing  Sancho  IV.  Equally  ineffectual  were  the  efforts  of 
the  infante  Don  Juan,  brother  of  the  new  king,  to  seize  on  Seville, 
to  which,  in  virtue  of  the  same  testament,  he  laid  his  claim. 
Neither  that  city  nor  the  states,  both  wiser  than  the  deceased 
monarch,  would  sanction  the  dismemberment  of  the  kingdom. 

During  his  father's  lifetime,  though  in  opposition  to  that 
fathers  wishes,  Sancho  had  married  his  cousin.  Dona  Maria  de  la 
Alolina,  without  being  able  to  obtain  the  necessary  dispensation 
frdui  the  i)(i])e.  W'lien,  in  1286.  tliat  (jucen  was  delivered  of  a  son, 
his  anxiety  to  get  the  legitimacy  of  his  marriage,  and,  consequently, 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      157 

1286-1312 

that  of  his  child  sanctioned,  naturally  increased:  he  dreaded  the 
pretensions  of  the  infantes  de  la  Cerda,  who  were  still  protected  by 
the  kings  of  Aragon  and  of  France ;  but  the  pope  continued  inexor- 
able. Equally  fruitless  were  his  negotiations  with  Alfonso  IIL  of 
the  former  kingdom  to  obtain  possession  of  the  two  princes.  In- 
ternal troubles  soon  added  to  the  perplexities,  and,  as  usual,  these 
troubles  arose  from  the  very  men  who  had  experienced  the  greatest 
share  of  the  royal  bounty.  To  Lope  Dias  de  Haro,  who  had 
rendered  him  some  service  on  a  former  occasion,  he  confided  the 
superintendence  of  the  finances ;  he  made  him  a  count, — a  dignity 
not  yet  common  in  the  kingdom, — and  married  his  daughter  to 
the  infante  Don  Juan,  thus  closely  connecting  him  with  the  royal 
family.  But  the  arrogance  of  the  new  favorite  rendered  him  odious, 
eventually  even  to  the  king. 

Don  Lope  was  slain  in  1288,  but  his  death  did  not  restore  tran- 
quillity. His  widow,  though  sister  to  the  queen,  invited  her  eldest 
son,  Don  Diego  de  Haro,  to  revenge  the  count. 

But  Sancho  himself  died  in  1295,  leaving  the  guardianship 
of  his  eldest  son  Ferdinand,  then  only  nine  years  of  age,  and  the 
regency  of  his  kingdom,  to  his  queen. 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand  IV.  was  one  continued  succession  of 
disasters.  Scarcely  had  he  received  the  homage  of  the  states  when 
his  uncle,  the  restless  Juan,  who  had  taken  refuge  with  the  king 
of  Granada,  called  in  question  his  legitimacy  and  laid  claim  to  the 
crown.  At  the  same  time  Diego  Lopez  de  Haro,  who,  towards 
the  close  of  the  late  reign,  had  made  an  attempt  in  Biscay,  and 
failed,  again  invaded  that  province,  the  government  of  which  he 
considered  as  belonging  by  right  to  his  family.  Dionis,  the  king 
of  Portugal,  armed  to  obtain  three  frontier  fortresses, — Serpia, 
Mora,  and  Moron ;  and  the  king  of  Granada  followed  or  set  the 
example,  in  the  hope  of  procuring  similar  advantages.  Nor  did 
the  measures,  however  well  intended,  which  the  queen  adopted  in 
this  emergency  improve  the  face  of  her  affairs.  To  increase  her 
perplexities,  the  infante  Enrique,  who,  in  1258.  had  rebelled  against 
his  brother  Alfonso  el  Sabio,  and  retired  to  Tunis,  and  had  after- 
wards passed  into  Italy  and  returned  into  Spain  in  1286,  resolved 
to  deprive  her  of  the  regency. 

But  the  troubles  of  Ferdinand  were  to  end  only  with  his  life. 
During  the  remainder  of  his  reign  lie  was  continually  at  war  with 
his  revolted  barons,  and  seldom  did  he  succeed  in  reducing  them 


158  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1308-1315 

by  force  to  obedience:  his  gold  did  more  than  his  arms.  Of  the 
kingly  dignity  he  had  nothing  but  the  name.  Among  the  turbulent 
and  faithless  barons  was  his  uncle  Juan,  whose  whole  life  ex- 
hibited continued  alternations  of  rebellion  and  of  purchased  sub- 
mission. Ferdinand's  death  was  premature  and  sudden:  if  any 
faith  is  to  be  put  in  ancient  chroniclers,  it  was  no  less  extraordinary. 
During  an  expedition  into  Andalusia  against  the  Moors,  rumor  ac- 
cused two  brothers  of  Martos,  both  cavaliers,  of  having  assassinated 
one  of  tlie  king's  barons.  Without  taking  the  trouble  to  inquire 
into  the  circumstances,  and  in  spite  of  their  solemn  asseveration  of 
innocence,  the  king  ordered  both  to  be  put  to  death.  Seeing  no 
hope  of  justice  at  his  hands,  they  are  said  to  have  cited  him  to 
appear  with  them,  in  thirty  days,  before  the  judgment  seat  of  God. 
riowever  this  be,  he  was  found  dead  on  his  couch  on  which  he  was 
taking  his  siesta,  September  17,  13 12. 

During  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  Templars  sustained  their 
famous  accusation  of  heresy  and  immorality.  In  the  supposition  that 
those  of  Castile  were  no  less  guilty  than  their  brethren  of  France, 
the  pope,  in  1308,  ordered  their  possessions  to  be  sequestrated:  the 
same  fate  attended  them  in  Aragon.  They  loudly  demanded  a  fair 
trial,  which  was  at  length  granted  them.  For  this  purpose  a  pro- 
vincial council  was  held  in  13 10  at  Salamanca,  where,  after  a  long, 
a  patient,  and  apparently  an  impartial  investigation,  they  were 
solemnly  absolved  from  all  the  charges  brought  against  them  and 
declared  true  knights  and  Catholic  Christians.  This  honorable  testi- 
mony in  their  favor,  however,  availed  them  little,  since  the  suppres- 
sion of  their  order  was  decreed  the  following  year  throughout  the 
Catholic  world.  The  riches  of  these  knights,  much  more  than  their 
reputed  vices,  occasioned  their  condemnation. 

As  Alfonso  XL,  the  only  son  of  the  deceased  king,  was  only  a 
few  months  old  on  his  accession  to  the  throne,  the  state  was  again 
thrown  into  a  long  series  of  convulsions  through  the  ambition  of  its 
barons.  The  first  disputes  were  between  the  infantes  Pedro  and 
Juan — uncle  and  granduncle  of  Alfonso — and  Don  Juan  de 
Lara,  for  the  wardship  of  the  royal  child.  In  the  Cortes  of 
l^dencia,  in  13 13,  convoked  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
termining in  w1i()se  hands  tlie  regency  should  be  vested,  one 
portion  of  tlic  deputies  voted  for  I\[aria  and  the  infante  Pedro;  an- 
other for  ('oiistanza,  tlic  ([ueen-molher,  and  the  infante  Juan.  The 
two  princes  had  recourse  to  arms  in  support  of  their  respective 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      159 

1315-1334 

claims :  after  many  months  of  continued  hostilities,  attended  with 
various  success,  they  agreed,  at  the  instance  of  Dona  Maria,  to 
divide  the  government  between  them.  This  policy, — the  only  one 
that  could  be  prudently  adopted  in  the  critical  circumstances  of  the 
time, — was  sanctioned  by  the  states  of  Madrid  in  13 15. 

It  could  not,  however,  be  expected  that  a  good  understanding 
would  long  subsist  between  the  two  regents.  The  laurels  which 
Pedro  won  against  the  Aloors  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  elder 
infante,  who  was  more  anxious  to  frustrate  the  success  of  his  coad- 
jutor than  to  humble  the  enemy.  It  required  all  the  influence  of 
the  prudent  Queen  Maria  (Constanza  was  no  more)  and  all  the 
representations  of  the  assembled  states  to  preserve  harmony  be- 
tween them.  The  death  of  both  in  13 19,  in  the  battle  of  Granada, 
has  been  already  related. 

The  death  of  the  two  infantes  was  followed  by  new  struggles 
for  the  regency.  It  was  at  length  seized  by  the  infante  Don  Felipe, 
uncle  of  the  king,  and  by  Don  Juan  Manuel,  also  of  the  royal  family 
and  one  of  the  most  powerful  barons  of  the  realm,  and  the  usurpa- 
tion was  confirmed  by  the  states  of  Burgos  in  1320.  Another  Don 
Juan,  surnamed  cl  Tiicrto,  or  the  Crooked,  son  of  the  restless 
infante  of  that  name,  disappointed  at  his  exclusion  from  the  re- 
gency, took  up  arms  to  obtain  the  object  of  his  ambition.  To  allay 
these  troubles  a  pontifical  legate  arrived,  and,  by  means  of  the  prel- 
ates and  Cortes,  succeeded  in  re-establishing  something  like  tran- 
quillity; but  after  his  departure,  and  especially  after  the  death  of 
the  old  Queen  Maria,  they  broke  out  with  renewed  violence.  Again 
did  ci\'il  war,  commenced  by  the  ambition  of  the  regents,  who  each 
aspired  to  the  sole  authority,  and  sustained  by  the  fickle  populace, 
desolate  these  fine  regions. 

This  desultory  warfare,  as  vexatious  to  the  king  as  it  was  in- 
glorious, continued  for  years,  notwithstanding  the  attempts  at  re- 
conciliation made  both  b}^  Alfonso's  immediate  emissaries  and  by 
the  agents  of  the  pope.  Don  Juan  was  often  aided  by  other  dis- 
contented lords,  such  as  the  Laras,  who  rebelled  on  the  slightest 
pretext,  and  returned  t(^  obedience  only  when  purchased  by  their 
sovereign.  Being  fc^-sakcn  in  1334  by  one  of  his  best  supporters, 
a  baron  of  that  rebellious  house,  he  himself,  the  following  year,  ac- 
cepted the  royal  offers,  and  condescended  to  return  to  his  duty  on 
the  condition  of  his  daugliter  Constanza  Ijeing  given  in  marriage 
to  the  prince  of  Portugal, — a  marriage  whicli  was  effected  in  the 


160  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1334-1351 

course  of  the  same  year.  But  neither  Don  Jiian  Manuel  nor  his 
brother  rebel  of  Lara  could  long  remain  at  peace  with  their  sov- 
ereign. Scarcely  had  they  renewed  their  homage  to  Alfonso,  when 
they  formed  a  new  league,  and  the  civil  war  recommenced.  The 
accession  to  their  cause  of  the  Portuguese  king  enabled  them  to  in- 
ilict  great  ravages  on  the  kingdom.  Alfonso  opposed  them  with 
great  vigor:  while  his  generals  forced  the  Lusitanian  to  raise  the 
siege  of  Badajoz  he  himself  reduced  Lerma,  which  was  defended 
by  Don  Juan  de  Lara,  who  submitted,  and  about  the  same  time  Juan 
Manuel  precipitately  retreated  into  Aragon.  In  1338  the  latter 
again  returned  to  his  duty,  and  though  always  a  disaffected  subject, 
he  did  not  again  break  out  into  open  rebellion. 

As  the  transactions  of  Alfonso  with  the  Moors  of  Spain  and 
Africa, — the  most  striking  events  of  his  reign, — have  been  already 
detailed,  little  more  remains  to  occupy  the  reader's  attention.  His 
amours,  however,  with  Dona  Leonora  de  Guzman  ought  not  to  be 
passed  over  in  silence,  since  they  are  connected  with  the  worst  acts 
of  his  successor.  This  lady,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  most 
illustrious  houses  of  Spain,  he  first  saw  at  Seville  in  1330  and  be- 
came deeply  enamored  of  her.  A  widow  at  eighteen  years  of  age, 
she  had  not  virtue  to  resist  the  royal  lover :  she  sacrificed  her  pride 
of  birth,  the  honor  of  her  family,  her  reputation  and  peace  of  mind 
to  the  vanity  of  pleasing,  or  to  the  ambition  of  ruling,  a  monarch. 
The  issue  of  this  adulterous  intercourse  were  numerous,  and,  as  we 
shall  soon  see,  unfortunate.  Of  his  legitimate  children,  his  succes- 
sor alone  survived  him.  He  died  of  the  plague,  before  Gibraltar, 
in  1350. 

On  the  accession  of  Pedro,  surnamed  the  Cruel,  then  only  in 
his  sixteenth  year,  Leonora  de  Guzman,  dreading  his  resentment,  or 
rather  that  of  the  queen-mother,  retired  to  the  city  of  Medina- 
Sidonia,  which  formed  her  appanage.  Through  the  perfidious  per- 
suasions, however,  of  a  Lara  and  an  Al])uquerque,  \vho  governed 
the  mind  of  Pedro,  and  who  pledged  their  knightly  faith  that  she 
had  nothing  to  fear,  she  proceeded  to  Seville  to  do  homage  to  the 
new  sovereign.  No  sooner  did  she  reach  that  city  than  she  was 
arrested  and  placed  under  a  guard'  in  the  Alcazar.  The  eldest  of 
her  sons,  Knrique,  who  v/as  permitted  to  visit  her  there,  would  have 
sharcfl  the  same  fate  had  he  not  precipitately  retreated  from  the 
cai)ital.  I^roni  Seville  she  was  soon  transferred  to  Carmona,  and  if 
her  life  was  spared  a  few  months,  it  was  not  owing  to  the  forbear- 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      161 

1351-1353 

ance,  but  to  the  indisposition  of  the  king,  which  was  at  one  time 
so  dangerous  as  to  render  his  recovery  hopeless.  Unfortunately 
for  Spain,  he  did  recover,  and  one  of  his  first  objects,  early  in  1351, 
was  to  draw  her  from  Carmona,  and  make  her  accompany  him  to 
Talavera,  w^here  she  was  consigned  to  a  still  closer  confinement. 
Her  doom  was  soon  sealed :  in  a  few  days  she  was  put  to  death  by 
the  express  order  of  the  queen,  no  doubt  with  the  concurrence  of 
the  king. 

Having  held  the  states  at  Valladolid,  where  he  ineffectually 
endeavored  to  procure  the  abolition  of  the  behetrias,  Pedro  pro- 
ceeded to  Ciudad  Rodrigo  to  confer  on  the  interests  of  the  two 
kingdoms  with  his  grandfather,  the  sovereign  of  Portugal.  Well 
had  it  been  for  him  had  he  followed  the  advice  of  that  monarch, 
who  urged  on  him  the  necessity  of  moderation  in  his  government, 
and  above  all  of  living  on  a  good  understanding  with  his  illegiti- 
mate brothers,  and  to  forgive  the  natural  indignation  they  had 
shown  at  the  death  of  their  mother.  He  pretended,  indeed,  that  the 
advice  was  not  lost  on  him ;  and  he  even  invited  the  eldest,  Enrique, 
to  return  to  court  to  rejoin  his  brother  Don  Tello;  but  from  his  char- 
acter and  subsequent  actions  it  may  be  inferred  that  his  object  in  so 
doing  was  solely  to  lull  his  intended  victim  into  security.  The 
invitation  was  accepted,  but  both  brothers  soon  left  him  and  re- 
volted, whether  at  the  instigation  of  some  other  rebels  or  from  a 
well-grounded  apprehension  of  their  danger  is  uncertain.  Some  of 
the  confederates  were  reduced  and  put  to  death ;  but  the  princes 
themselves  eluded  his  pursuit, — Don  Tello  by  fleeing  into  Aragon. 
While  besieging  the  places  which  had  thrown  off  his  authority  he 
became  enamored  of  Dona  Maria  de  Padilla,  who  was  attached  to 
the  service  of  his  favorite  lady,  DcMla  Isabel  de  Alburiuerque. 
Through  the  persuasion  of  this  unprincipled  intriguer,  the  uncle  of 
the  young  lady,  Don  Juan  de  Hinestroja,  did  not  hesitate  to  sacri- 
fice the  honor  of  his  house  by  consigning  her  to  the  arms  of  the 
royal  gallant.  The  connection  thus  formed,  which  continued  unto 
the  death  of  Dona  ]\Iaria,  brought  the  greatest  disasters  on  the 
country. 

Some  months  previous  to  this  connection,  Pedro,  in  compliance 
with  the  request  of  the  Cortes  of  Valladolid,  had  agreed  that  an 
embassy  should  be  sent  to  the  French  king  soliciting  for  wife  a 
princess  of  the  royal  house  of  the  nation.  The  choice  fell  on 
Blanche  de  Bourbon,  a  princess  of  excellent  qurdities,  who  early  in 


162  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1353-1354 

1353  arrived  at  Valladolid.  But  the  king,  infatuated  by  his  mis- 
tress, who  had  just  been  brought  to  bed  of  a  daughter,  was  in  no 
disposition  to  conckide  the  marriage;  and  it  was  not  without  diffi- 
cuhy  that  his  minister  Albuquerque,  who  was  already  jealous  of 
the 'favors  accorded  to  the  relations  of  Maria  de  Padilla,  and  for 
that  reason  the  more  eager  for  its  solemnization,  prevailed  on  him  to 
meet  the  princess  at  Valladolid.  Leaving  Padilla  and  his  heart  at 
Muntalvan,  he  reluctantly  proceeded  towards  that  city.  On  his  way 
he  accepted  the  submissions  of  his  brothers  Enrique  and  Tello, 
whom,  on  an  occasion  like  the  one  approaching,  he  could  not 
decently  punish  for  their  rebellion.  In  June  the  ceremony  took 
place  with  due  splendor,  but  two  days  after  its  celebration  he 
precipitately  left  his  youthful  bride  and  returned  to  Montalvan. 
lie  was  followed  by  his  brother  Fadrique,  grand  master  of  Santiago, 
and  by  Albuquerque,  but  he  refused  to  see  them.  In  a  few  days, 
indeed,  he  paid  a  short  visit  to  his  mother  and  bride,  who  remained 
in  the  city  where  the  nuptials  had  been  solemnized:  to  the  latter  it 
was  a  final  one,  nor  did  its  duration  exceed  two  days.  On  his 
return  Albuquerque  was  openly  disgraced;  the  royal  confidence 
was  transferred  to  the  family  of  Padilla,  and  the  unfortunate 
Blanche  was  confined  in  the  fortress  of  Arevalo,  where  no  one,  not 
even  excepting  the  queen-mother,  w^as  allowed  to  see  her.  To 
make  w^ay  for  Diego  de  Padilla,  brother  of  the  favorite,  the  grand 
master  of  Calatrava  was  treacherously  murdered,  and  the  com- 
manders of  the  order  compelled  to  elect  the  former. 

The  next  proceeding  of  this  tyrant  filled  with  surprise  all  who 
knew  his  attachment  to  Maria  de  Padilla.  Being  struck  while  at 
Valladolid  with  the  personal  attraction  of  Dona  Juana  de  Castro,  a 
young  maiden,  he  endeavored  to  gain  her  to  his  wishes.  But  the 
Iruly  having  too  much  virtue  to  yield,  he  changed  his  battery  by 
boldly  proposing  to  marry  her.  The  proposition  astonished  one 
Vvho  knew  his  public  engagement  with  Blanche  de  Bourbon,  but  he 
assured  her  that  the  union  was  null,  for  reasons  which  his  prelates 
should  explain  to  her.  That  any  such  prelates  should  be  found 
might  be  supposed  impossible,  yet  certain  it  is  that  the  bishops 
ol  Avila  and  Salamanca  confirmed  his  assurances,  and  the  credulous 
[nana  became  his  dupe.  This  profanation  of  the  sacrament  took 
jjlace  in  the  cathedral  of  Salamanca  in  the  year  1354.  On  the  re- 
port, however,  that  the  brother  of  Juana  had  entered  into  a  league 
with  his  (Avn  brothers,  and  with  the  disgraced  Albuquerque,  both  to 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      163 

1354-1358 

remove  the  family  of  Padilla  from  his  court  and  to  make  him  return 
to  his  lawful  queen,  he  not  only  insultingly  acquainted  the  new 
victim  with  the  deception  he  had  so  cruelly  practiced  on  her,  but 
abandoned  her  forever.  In  due  time  a  son  was  the  issue  of  this 
short  connection. 

When  news  of  this  base  transaction  reached  the  brother  of 
Juana,  Fernando  Perez  de  Castro,  who  was  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful lords  of  Galicia,  he  instantly  joined  the  league  of  the  discon- 
tented. A  civil  war  now  commenced,  which  during  some  months 
raged  with  more  animosity  than  success  to  either  party.  Pedro  was 
imprisoned,  but  escaped.  Pedro  assembled  his  states  at  Burgos,  and, 
by  artfully  representing  himself  as  thwarted  in  all  his  proceedings 
for  the  good  of  his  people  by  his  mother,  his  brothers,  and  the  other 
rebels,  whose  only  aim  was  to  tyrannize  over  the  nation,  he  pro- 
cured supplies  for  carrying  on  the  war.  These  supplies,  however, 
were  granted  on  the  condition  of  his  living  wnth  Queen  Blanche, — - 
a  condition  which  he  readily  promised  to  fulfill,  without  the  slightest 
intention  of  so  doing.  After  an  unsuccessful  assault  on  Toro  he 
returned  to  Toledo,  the  peculiar  object  of  his  hatred.  Contrary 
to  all  reasonable  expectation,  he  forced  an  entrance  and  expelled 
the  troops  of  his  brother  Enrique.  This  success  would,  however, 
have  been  unattainable  had  not  most  of  the  inhabitants  believed  in 
his  protestations,  and  promises  to  return  to  Blanche.  Meanwhile  the 
unfortunate  Blanche  was  transferred — not  to  his  palace,  to  enjoy 
her  rights  as  queen,  but  to  the  fortress  of  Siguenza.  Pedro  then 
lost  no  time  in  marching  against  Toro,  where  his  mother  and  many 
of  the  leaguers  still  remained.  His  first  attempt  on  that  place  was 
repulsed  with  loss,  but  after  a  siege  of  some  months  he  prevailed 
on  the  inhabitants  by  lavishing  extraordinary  promises  of  clemency 
to  open  their  gates  to  him.  How  well  he  performed  his  promise 
appeared  the  very  day  of  his  entrance,  when  he  caused  some  bar- 
barous executions  to  be  made  in  his  mother's  sight.  The  cjueen 
fainted  at  the  spectacle,  and  on  recovering  her  senses  requested 
permission  to  retire  into  Portugal,  which  was  granted.  About  the 
same  time  many  Castilian  barons  fled  into  Aragon. 

During  the  next  few  years  Pedro  waged  a  desultory  war 
against  the  king  of  Aragon,  both  by  sea  and  land,  but  the  result 
was  decisive  to  neither  of  the  belligerents.  In  this  war  the  barbarity 
<~)f  his  executions,  tlie  duplicity  witli  wliich  he  planned  the  destruc- 
tion of  such   as   submitted   under   the   assurances   of  pardon,   his 


1(54,  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

*"*  1358-1360 

perfidious  disrcj^ard  of  promises,  or  even  oaths,  when  the  openly 
pardoned  objects  of  his  hatred  were  fully  in  his  power— not  even 
excepting  his  nearest  connections — stamp  him  at  once  as  a  ruthless 
barbarian  and  a  bloody  tyrant.  The  execution  of  his  brother, 
Fadrique,  grand  master  of  Santiago,  in  1358,  is,  perhaps,  more 
characteristic  of  him  than  any  other  of  his  actions. 

No  sooner  was  this  horrid  deed  committed  than  the  tyrant  sent 
orders  for  the  execution  of  several  knight  in  various  cities  of  the 
kingdom ;  and,  to  show  his  exultation,  he  insisted  on  dining  in  the 
very  room  in  which  lay  the  bleeding  corpse  of  his  murdered  brother, 
lie'then  callcd-for  his  cousin  Don  Juan,  infante  of  Aragon,  to  whom 
he  communicated  his  intention  of  executing  his  brother  Don  Tello, 
governor  of  Biscay,  and  of  bestowing  the  lordship  on  Juan.  The 
king  and  the.  prince  departed  the  very  same  day  for  that  province, 
but  on  reaching  Aguilar  they  found  that  the  prince  had  been 
apprised  of  his  intended  doom,  and  had  fled,  but  was  speedily  re- 
called to  Bilbao,  where  the  king  repaired,  by  the  promise  that  his 
ambition  slunild  be  gratified.  The  infante  hastened  to  that  town 
and  proceeded  to  the  house  occupied  by  the  court.  As  he  ap- 
proached the  royal  apartments  some  of  the  tyrant's  creatures,  as 
if  in  jest,  deprived  him  of  his  poniard, — the  only  weapon  which  he 
had  about  him,  and  at  the  same  moment  he  was  struck  on  the  head 
by  a  mace:  another  blow  brought  him  lifeless  to  the  ground.  His 
corpse  was  thrown  from  the  window  of  the  apartment  occupied  by 
the  king  into  the  street,  but  was  afterwards  conveyed  to  Burgos  and 
cast  into  the  river. 

To  revenge  the  murder  of  this  and  other  of  Pedro's  victims, 
the  two  brothers,  Enrique  and  Tello,  who  had  returned  to  Aragon, 
made  frequent  irruptions  into  Castile.  In  a  battle  fought  in  1359 
they  triumi)hed  over  Ilincstroja,  whom  they  left  dead  on  the  field, 
and  in  subsequent  invasions  they  obtained  no  small  portion  of 
l)iun(ler.  But  none  of  these  things  moved  the  king,  who  persevered 
in  his  course  of  barbarities  as  if  his  throne  rested  on  a  rock  of 
adamant.  It  is  impossiljle  to  specify  all  his  individual  acts  of 
nnn-fler.  Ikit  his  famous,  or  rather  infamous,  compact  with  the 
IVjrlugncsc  king,  Pedro,  is  most  indicative  of  the  man.  Knowing 
luiw  nmcli  lliat  sovereign  longed  to  extirpate  all  who  had  been  con- 
cerned in  1I1C  murder  of  Ines  dc  Castro,  and  of  whom  a  few  had 
sought  rcfn-c  in  Castile,  and  no  less  eager  on  his  own  part  to  take 
vengeance  on  three  or  iouv  of  his  own  obnoxious  subjects,  who 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE       165 

1360-1363 

had  implored  the  protection  of  the  Portuguese,  he  proposed  to 
surrender  the  Portuguese  in  exchange  for  the  Castihan  refugees. 
The  kindred  soul  of  the  Lusitanian  felt  a  savage  joy  at  the  proposal : 
in  1360  the  men  were  exchanged  and  put  to  death.  To  commis- 
erate the  murderers  of  Doha  Ihes  is  impossible,  however  we  may 
execrate  the  perfidy  with  which  the  sacred  laws  of  hospitality  were 
sacrificed  to  dark  revenge.  That  the  king  of  Castile  contented  him- 
self with  merely  banishing  the  archbishop  of  Toledo,  the  friend  and 
protector  of  Blanche  de  Bourbon,  was  probably  owing  to  the  fear, 
not  of  the  pope,  whose  power  he  despised,  but  of  his  own  people, 
who,  however  submissive  to  his  will  on  most  occasions,  would  not 
tamely  have  witnessed  the  murder  of  their  primate.  That  he  cared 
as  little  for  the  king  of  France  as  for  the  pope, — both  were  distant 
enemies, — Spain  had  a  melancholy  proof,  in  1361,  in  the  tragical 
death  of  that  unhappy  queen.  His  orders  for  her  removal  by  poison 
were  first  given  to  the  governor  of  Xeres,  to  whom  the  custody  of 
her  person  had  for  some  time  been  intrusted ;  but  that  governor, 
whose  name  (Ihigo  Ortiz  de  Zuniga)  ought  to  be  revered  by  pos- 
terity, refused  to  become  the  executioner  of  his  Cjueen.  It  is  some- 
what surprising  that  his  life  was  not  the  penalty  of  his  disobedience, 
— a  doom  which  he  doubtless  expected.  A  less  scrupulous  agent 
for  this  bloody  business  was  found  in  one  of  the  king's  ballasteros, 
Juan  Perez  de  Robledo,  who  hastened  to  the  fortress,  superseded 
the  noble  Ihigo  Ortiz  in  the  command,  and  perpetrated  the  deed, — 
whether  by  poison  or  by  steel  is  unknown.  The  same  violence 
befell  Isabel  de  Lara,  widow  of  the  infante  Don  Juan,  w^hom  the 
tyrant  had  murdered  at  Bilbao.  The  fate  of  Blanche  de  Bourbon 
must  powerfully  excite  the  sympathy  of  every  reader. 

The  death  of  Blanche  was  followed  by  the  natural  one  of  the 
king's  mistress,  Maria  de  Padilla.  Whether  through  the  example 
of  the  Portuguese  sovereign,  who  had  shortly  before  proclaimed  his 
secret  marriage  with  Ihes  de  Castro,  or  whether  because  the  Cas- 
tilian  had  in  like  manner  actually  married  j\Iaria,  certain  it  is 
that,  in  1362, — immediately  after  the  murder  of  the  king  of  Granada 
by  his  own  hand, — Pedro  convoked  the  Cortes  at  Seville,  and  de- 
clared that  Maria  de  Padilla  had  been  his  lawful  wife,  and  that  for 
this  reason  alone  he  had  refused  to  live  with  Blanche  de  Bourbon: 
he  therefore  rc([uired  that  his  son  Alfonso  should  be  declared  his 
legitimate  successor. 

It  was  to  defend  himself  against  the  probable  vengeance  of 


166  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1364-1366 

France,  and  the  present  hostility  of  Aragon,  that,  in  1363,  Pedro 
sought  the  alhance  of  the  Enghsli  Edward  III.  and  the  heroic  Black 
I'rince.  'Jdie  danger  was  th.e  ni(jre  to  be  apprehended  when  the 
king  of  Navarre  joined  his  brother  of  Aragon.  For  some  time  the 
advantage  lay  on  the  side  of  the  Castilian,  who,  early  in  1364, 
reduced  several  towns  in  Valencia  and  invested  the  capital  of  that 
province,  the  siege  of  which,  however,  he  was  soon  compelled  to 
raise.  But  these  temporary  successes  w^ere  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  the  activity  of  Enrique,  who  in  1365  prevailed  on 
Betrand  du  Guesclin,  the  count  de  la  Marche,  and  other  French 
chiefs  to  aid  him  in  his  projected  dethronement  of  the  Castilian 
tyrant.  The  French  king,  Charles  V.,  anxious  to  avenge  the  cruel 
insult  done  to  his  royal  house,  espoused  the  cause  of  Enrique  and 
commanded  his  disbanded  soldiers  to  serve  in  the  expedition  des- 
tined against  Castile.  To  meet  it,  Pedro,  in  1366,  assembled  his 
troops  at  Burgos.  He  had  not  long  to  wait;  under  some  noted 
leaders  the  French  soon  entered  Catalonia,  were  favorably  received 
by  their  ally,  the  king  of  Aragon,  and  reached  Calahorra  unmolested, 
the  gates  of  which  were  speedily  opened  to  them.  There  Enrique 
was  solemnly  proclaimed  king  of  Castile. 

The  inactivity  of  Pedro  on  the  invasion  of  his  kingdom  was 
such  as  to  leave  it  a  doubtful  point  with  posterity  whether  he  was 
a  coward  or  whether  he  knew  too  well  the  disaffection  of  his 
people  to  hazard  a  battle  with  the  enemy.  In  opposition  to  the 
urgent  remonstrances  of  the  inhabitants,  he  precipitately  left  Bur- 
gos for  Seville,  without  venturing  his  sword  with  his  aspiring 
brother.  Enrique  hastened  to  the  abandoned  city,  where  he  was 
joyfully  recei\-ed  by  many  deputies  of  the  towns  and  crowned  in 
the  monastery  of  Huelgas.  He  now  lost  no  time  in  pursuing  the 
fugitive  Pedro.  Presenting  himself  before  Toledo,  he  summoned 
that  important  place  to  surrender,  which  after  some  deliberation 
obeyed  the  summons.  There  he  was  joined  by  deputies  from  Avila, 
Segovia.  Madrid,  Cuenza,  Ciudad  Real,  with  the  submission  of  those 
towns.     He  was  now  master  of  the  whole  of  New  Castile. 

The  rapidity  of  these  successes  convinced  the  guilty  Pedro  that 
his  own  subjects  alone  would  form  but  a  poor  rampart  against  the 
assaults  of  his  brotlier.  To  procure  the  aid  of  Portugal,  he  sent 
his  daughter  l-.eatrix,  nov.'  the  heiress  of  his  states  (his  son  Alfonso 
was  no  more),  into  that  country  with  a  great  treasure  as  her  mar- 
riage i)orti(^n   f(.>r  the  infante  Ferdinand,  to  whom  she  had  been 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      167 

1366-1367 

promised.  He  was  himself  soon  obliged  to  follow  her:  an  in- 
surrection of  the  Sevillians,  who  openly  declared  for  Enrique,  in- 
spiring the  detested  tyrant  with  a  just  dread  of  his  life,  he  fled  into 
the  territories  of  his  uncle  and  ally.  But  here  new  mortifications 
awaited  him :  the  Portuguese  returned  both  his  daughter  and  his 
treasures,  on  the  pretext  that  the  states  of  Castile  having  acknowl- 
edged Enrique,  the  latter  had  no  wish  to  plunge  the  two  kingdoms 
into  war:  all  that  he  could  obtain  was  permission  to  set  out  for 
Santiago  with  the  resolution  of  proceeding  thence  to  Coruna  and 
embarking  for  Bayonne,  to  join  his  ally  the  Prince  of  Wales, 

Pedro  reached  the  city  of  Santiago  about  the  middle  of  June. 
While  there  he  resolved  on  the  murder  of  the  archbishop, — a  reso- 
lution almost  too  extraordinary  to  be  explained,  yet  sufficiently 
characteristic  of  the  man,  who,  whenever  blood  was  to  be  shed  or 
plunder  to  be  procured,  little  troubled  himself  about  reasons  for  his 
conduct.  The  fortresses  of  the  murdered  prelate  were  immedi- 
ately occupied.  The  assassin,  leaving  them,  as  well  as  the  support 
of  his  interests,  to  the  care  of  Fernando  de  Castro,  proceeded  with 
his  daughter  to  Coruna,  where,  with  a  fleet  of  twenty-two  sail,  he 
embarked  for  Bayonne.  Thus,  in  three  short  months,  without  a 
single  battle  on  either  side,  was  this  cowardly  tyrant  deprived  of 
a  powerful  kingdom. 

The  exiled  king  was  well  received  by  the  English  hero,  who 
undertook  to  restore  him  to  his  throne.  The  treaty  into  which  the 
two  princes  had  entered  rendered  the  aid  of  Edward  almost  im- 
perative:  besides,  it  was  his  interest  to  oppose  the  close  ally  of 
France ;  and  his  own  personal  aml^ition  was  not  a  little  gratified  by 
the  offer  of  the  lordship  of  Biscay,  with  56,000  florins  of  gold  for 
his  own  use  and  550,000  for  the  support  of  his  army.  To  ensure 
the  punctual  performance  of  the  other  conditions,  Pedro  delivered 
liis  daughters  as  hostages  into  the  hands  of  the  Black  Prince.  The 
enterprise  was  sanctioned  by  the  luiglish  monarch,  and  the  neces- 
sary preparations   immediately  commenced. 

The  preparations  of  the  English  prince  being  completed  early 
in  the  spring  of  1367,  he  passed  the  Pyrenees  at  Roncevaux  and 
descended  into  the  plains  of  Navarre.  In  his  combined  army  of 
English,  Normans,  and  Gascons  were  some  of  the  flower  of  English 
chivalry.  On  tlie  2d  of  April  the  two  liostile  armies  met  west  of 
Logrofio,  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Ebro.  The  Castilians  immedi- 
ately occupied  the  vicinity  of  Najera  :  tlie  allies  encamped  at  Navar- 


168  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 


1367 


rete.  To  spare  tlie  effusion  of  Christian  blood,  Edward  sent  a 
letter  by  a  herald  to  the  camp  of  Enrique,  explaining  the  just 
causes  which  had  armed  the  English  monarch  in  defense  of  an  ally 
and  a  relation,  but  offering,  at  the  same  time,  to  mediate  between  the 
two  parties.  His  letter,  which  was  addressed,  "  To  the  noble  and 
powerful  Prince  Enriftue.  count  of  Trastamara,"  not  to  the  king  of 
Castile,  was  courteously  received  by  Enrique.  In  his  reply  he  dwelt 
on  the  cruelties  and  oppressions  of  Pedro's  government,  whose 
expulsion  he  represented  as  the  act  of  an  indignant  nation,  and 
expressed  his  resolution  to  maintain  both  that  nation's  rights  and 
his  own  by  the  sword. 

The  battle  which  decided  the  fate  of  the  two  kings  commenced 
the  following  morning,  April  the  3d.  The  war-cries  of  "  Guienne 
and  St.  George!  "  on  the  one  side  and  of  "  Castile  and  Santiago!  " 
on  the  other  were  soon  drowned  by  the  clash  of  arms,  the  shouts  of 
the  victors,  and  the  groans  of  the  dying.  The  struggle  was  for  a 
short  time  desperate:  but  who  could  contend  with  the  victor  of 
Crecy  and  Poitiers?  A  fierce  charge  on  the  left  wing  of  Enrique 
by  the  prince  in  person  so  terrified  Don  Tello,  who  commanded  a 
body  of  cavalry,  that  he  fled  from  the  field:  perhaps  he  was  as 
treacherous  as  he  was  cowardly.  Enrique  fought  nobly;  so  also 
did  his  antagonist,  who,  like  his  celebrated  counterpart,  Richard 
III,  of  England,  was  as  brave  as  he  was  cruel.  But  after  the  flight 
of  Don  Tello  the  infantry  of  Castile  began  to  give  way,  and  after 
some  desperate  efforts  by  Enrique  to  support  the  contest,  resistance 
was  abandoned.  The  number  of  slain,  however,  on  the  part  of 
the  vanquished  was  only  8,000,  a  fact  not  very  honorable  to  them. 
Many  thousands  were  made  prisoners,  all  but  a  handful  who  ac- 
companied the  defeated  count  into  Aragon,  whence  he  escaped  into 
Erance.  Success  so  splendid  is  seldom  to  be  found  in  the  annals 
of  history:  it  at  once  restored  Pedro  to  the  Castilian  throne.  Eng- 
land, fruitful  as  she  has  been  in  heroes,  can  boast  of  few  such 
glori()US  fields.  But  the  heroic  victor  met  with  little  gratitude 
from  his  faithless  ally:  as  on  a  former  occasion,  the  states  of  Bis- 
cay were  secretly  advised  not  to  accept  him  for  their  ruler;  and  it 
was  not  williout  difficulty  that  he  could  obtain  from  Pedro  an  oath 
tliat  tlie  money  due  to  his  troops  should  be  paid  at  two  instalments, 
— the  first  in  four,  tlie  second  in  twelve  months.^     But  what  most 

■:  It  I-  pro1)al)le  tliat  a  portion  of  the  first  instalment  was  paid  to  the  Black 
Prince  ]Kh>rc  his  departure  from  Burgos.     His  treasures  remained  in  that  citv 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE     169 

1367 

disgusted  the  humane  conqueror  was  the  eagerness  which  the 
restored  king  showed  to  shed  the  blood  of  the  prisoners.  This  he 
disdained  to  permit:  he  severely  upbraided  the  tyrant  for  cherish- 
ing so  sanguinary  a  disposition.  Indeed,  Pedro  was  forced  to  bend 
before  the  master-mind  of  Edward,  and  to  refrain  from  shedding 
blood  so  long  as  he  remained  in  Castile.  That  stay  was  but  of 
short  continuance :  having  made  peace  between  the  kings  of  Cas- 
tile and  Aragon,  and  admonished  the  former  to  procure  the  love  of 
the  people,  he  returned  to  Guienne. 

From  Burgos,  where  he  had  separated  from  the  Black  Prince, 
Pedro  proceeded  to  Toledo,  where  he  put  to  death  some  obnoxious 
individuals :  far  greater  horrors  he  perpetrated  in  person  at  Cor- 
dova and  by  his  emissaries  at  Seville.  He  breathed  utter  destruc- 
tion against  all  who  had  shown  any  zeal  in  the  service  of  Enrique, 
especially  if  they  happened  to  have  any  wealth  with  which  he  might 
fill  his  empty  coffers. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  (1367)  Enrique  entered  Spain 
by  Roussillon,  at  the  head  of  a  very  small  force,  not  exceeding 
400  lances.  At  first  the  king  of  Aragon  attempted  to  arrest  his 
progress  through  that  kingdom,  but  with  little  zeal :  the  soldiers 
sent  to  oppose  him  connived  at  his  passage  into  Navarre.  Having 
passed  the  Ebro  at  Azagra  and  set  foot  on  the  Castilian  territory, 
he  drew  a  cross  on  the  sand  and  by  it  swore  that  he  would  not 
desist  from  his  undertaking  while  life  remained.  The  neighboring 
inhabitants  of  Calahorra  readily  received  him  within  their  walls. 
He  was  there  joined  by  many  of  the  Castilian  barons  with  consider- 
able reinforcements,  and  by  the  archbishop  of  Toledo.  His  recep- 
tion at  Burgos  was  no  less  satisfactory.  The  example  of  this  city 
constrained  Cordova,  which  had  suffered  so  much  from  the  blood- 
thirsty Pedro,  to  declare  for  him.  But  he  did  not  immediately 
proceed  to  the  south :  he  turned  his  arms  against  some  of  the  for- 
tresses in  Old  Castile :  Leon  was  besieged  and  taken ;  the  Asturias 
submitted ;  Illescas,  Buytrago,  and  Aladrid  opened  their  gates  after 
a  short  struggle,  and  Toledo,  which  promised  a  more  obstinate 
resistance,  was  invested.  It  is  useful  to  observe  that  the  resist- 
ance of  these  places  was  the  work  of  the  citizens  who  were 
generally  attached  to  Pedro  while  the  barons  and  hidalgos  ^  were 
generally  for  Enrique.     This  circumstance  gives  great  weight  to 

with  a  portion  of  the  troops,  until  August,  which  was  about  four  months  from  his 
entrance  into  the  kmgdom. 

4  Hijo  de  algo,  son  of  something;  easily  corrupted  into  hidalgo. 


170  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 


1369 


the  suspicion  that,  while  Pedro  ruled  the  privileged  orders  with  an 
iron  scepter,  he  favored  the  independence  of  the  people. 

The  success  of  the  invader  roused  Pedro  to  something  like 
activity  in  defense  of  his  tottering  crown.  His  ally,  the  king  of 
Granada,  was  persuaded  to  arm  in  his  behalf,  and  to  join  him  with 
6,000  horse  and  30,000  foot.  His  own  troops  did  not  much  exceed 
7,000,  but  the  united  force  was  formidable.  Cordova  was  immedi- 
ately assailed  by  the  two  kings,  but  the  defense  was  so  vigorous 
and  the  loss  on  the  part  of  the  besiegers  so  severe  that  the  enter- 
prise was  soon  abandoned.  Tlie  troops  of  Mohammed  V.  returned 
to  Granada,  and  though  they  afterwards  took  the  field,  they  did  so 
not  so  much  to  aid  their  ally  as  to  derive  some  advantage  for  them- 
selves from  the  confusion  of  the  times.  Toledo  manfully  resisted 
his  assaults.  To  relieve  that  important  city,  which  had  now  been 
invested  nearly  twelve  months,  Pedro  left  Seville  early  in  March, 
1369,  and  passed  by  Calatrava  tov\^ards  Montiel,  with  the  intention 
of  waiting  for  some  reinforcements  advancing  from  Murcia,  before 
he  ventured  an  action  with  his  rival.  Enrique  now  put  his  little 
army  in  motion,  was  joined  by  the  grand  master  of  Santiago,  and 
arriving  at  Montiel  with  incredible  dispatch,  he  immediately  fell 
on  the  outposts  of  his  rival  and  forced  them  precipitately  into  the 
fortress. 

With  a  very  inadequate  force  Pedro  was  now  besieged  in  this 
place  and  cut  off  from  all  supplies,  which  yet  reached  Enrique  every 
hour.  What  added  to  his  difficulties  was  the  want  of  provisions 
and  of  water,  so  that  his  men  began  to  desert  one  by  one  to  the 
enemy  or  retire  to  their  respective  homes.  In  this  critical  situation 
he  meditated  the  means  of  escape.  One  of  his  knights,  Mendo 
Rodriguez,  who  was  on  intimate  terms  with  Bertrand  du  Guesclin, 
addressed  his  friend  from  the  ramparts  and  expressed  a  wish  to 
see  him  in  secret.  Du  Guesclin  assented,  and  told  him  to  come  that 
very  night  to  the  tent.  Rodriguez  was  punctual  to  the  engagement. 
On  tlic  part  of  his  royal  master  he  offered  his  friend  the  heredi- 
tary possession  of  Soria,  Almazan,  Monteagudo,  Atienza,  Deza,  and 
M(jr(jn,  with  200,000  doubloons  in  gold  if  the  Breton  knight  would 
assist  Pedro  to  escape.  The  knight  replied  that  lie  could  not  ac- 
cept the  proposal,  as  he  served  in  this  war  by  order  of  his  natural 
lord,  the  Icing  of  France.  Rodriguez,  however,  advised  him  to 
think  further  of  the  proposal,  which  he  promised  to  do  and  left 
him.     Acting  upon  the  advice  of  friends,  he  related  the  whole  affair 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      171 

1369 

to  Enrique,  who  thanked  him  for  his  fidehty,  and  said  that  he 
should  have  all  that  had  been  promised  him,  and  even  more,  if  he 
would  draw  Pedro  to  his  tent  and  acquaint  Enrique  with  the  cir- 
cumstance the  moment  it  happened.  The  facility  with  which  he 
consented  to  stain  his  kniglitly  faith, — to  bring  everlasting  infamy 
on  his  name, — may  well  raise  a  doubt  whetlier  he  really  felt  the 
repugnance  he  pretended.  However  this  be,  he  assured  Mendo 
Rodriguez  that  he  would  provide  for  the  safety  of  the  king,  and  it 
was  arranged  that  Pedro  should  leave  the  fortress  on  the  evening 
of  March  23,  that  he  should  repair  to  the  Breton's  tent,  and  be 
escorted  to  a  place  of  safety.  At  the  hour  appointed,  accompanied 
by  three  of  his  confidential  knights,  the  king  silently  repaired  to  the 
tent  of  his  base  betrayer.  At  the  same  moment  Enricjue,  who  had 
been  made  acquainted  with  his  victim's  arrival,  entered  the  tent, 
but  did  not  at  first  know  his  brother, — so  great  was  the  alteration 
which  a  few  years  had  made  in  that  brother's  appearance.  "  There 
is  your  enemy!  "  said  one  of  the  attendants,  pointing  to  the  king: 
even  yet  he  doubted,  until  Pedro  cried  out,  "  I  am,  I  am!  "  Enrique 
then  drew  his  dagger  and  wounded  the  king  in  the  face.  Both 
now  grappled  and  fell  to  the  ground,  but  the  struggle  was  of  short 
duration :  the  count  was  fully  armed  and  probably  aided  by  his 
satellites,  and  his  poniard  or  theirs  soon  deprived  the  prostrate 
monarch  of  life. 

Pedro,  like  England's  Richard  III.,  whom  he  partially  re- 
sembles, w'as  probably  no  enemy  to  the  humbler  orders,  but  eager 
only  to  break  the  formidable  power  of  the  nobles.  Even  admitting, 
what  is  very  probable,  tliat  his  character  has  been  somewhat  unfairly 
treated  by  Ayala,  if  one-half  the  deeds  narrated  by  that  author  were 
actually  perpetrated  by  him, — and  the  careful  minuteness  with  which 
they  are  recorded  gives  them  the  appearance  of  authenticity, — he 
has  had  but  one  equal  in  ferocity,  and  that  one  was  the  Czar  Ivan 
IV.  of  Russia.  That  he  v>as  a  man  of  lust  as  well  as  of  cruelty  is 
apparent  from  the  number  of  his  mistresses,  to  say  nothing  of  his 
two  pretended  wives.  Of  liis  numerous  issue,  two  daughters  mar- 
ried into  the  royal  family  of  England :  Constanza,  who  espoused 
John  of  Gaunt,  duke  of  Lancaster;  and  Isabel,  the  wife  of  Edward, 
duke  of  York. 

I'jrrique  II.  v^as  the  second  and  last  monarch  of  illegitimate 
birth  that  ever  reigned  in  Castile  and  Leon.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
discover  the  ground  on  which  this  ])rince  claimed  the  crown:  if  the 


172  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

^•"^  1313-1380 

(laui,^htcrs  of  Pedro  were  illegitimate,  they  stood  nearer  to  the  throne 
than  himself. 

The  difficulties  with  which  the  usurper  had  to  contend  were  of 
no  common  order.  Besides  the  places  which  recognized  the  Portu- 
guese. Logroho,  Vittoria,  Salvatierra,  and  Campezo  still  adhered 
lo  Charles  of  Navarre;  Molina  and  Requena  placed  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  Aragon ;  and  Carmona  refused,  when  sum- 
moned, to  receive  Enrique.  Add  to  this  that  Mohammed  of  Gra- 
nada refused  his  alliance,  but  entered  into  one  with  King  Ferdinand, 
and  that  Pedro  of  Aragon  openly  joined  it,  in  consideration  of 
Murcia  and  some  fortresses  in  Castile,  and  his  situation  will  appear 
sufficiently  precarious.  But,  if  he  had  no  other  virtues,  he  had 
courage;  and  he  resolutely  prepared  to  vindicate  his  illegitimate 
authority.  At  sea,  too,  his  fleet  was  victorious  over  an  English 
squadron  which  advanced  against  his  ally  the  French  king.  It  was 
to  repair  this  check,  as  well  as  to  gratify  his  own  personal  ambition, 
that  the  English  duke  of  Lancaster,  who  had  just  married  Con- 
stanza,  daughter  of  Pedro  the  Cruel,  assumed  the  title  of  king  of 
Castile,  and  prepared  to  invade  the  kingdom. 

The  obscure  though  continued  hostilities  which  followed 
merit  little  attention;  the  advantage  of  one  day  was  neutralized  by 
the  reverse  of  the  next.  In  1373,  indeed,  Enrique  penetrated  as  far 
as  Lisbon,  but  he  reduced  no  place  of  consequence,  and  he  soon  re- 
turned to  his  dominions  with  the  barren  glory  of  having  insulted 
his  royal  enemy.  Enrique  died  in  1379.  In  character  he  was  as 
cruel  as  Pedro,  as  loose  in  morals  and  scarcely  inferior  as  a  tyrant. 
On  the  whole,  however,  he  was  a  fortunate  ruler.  Either  by  bribes 
or  force  he  reduced  Galicia  to  obedience,  recovered  several  places 
from  the  king  of  Navarre,  whose  capital  he  at  one  time  invested,  and 
overawed  his  neighbors  of  Portugal  and  Aragon. 

Juan  I.  followed  his  father's  advice  by  cultivating  the  friend- 
ship of  the  French  king,  whom  he  frequently  assisted  in  the  inter- 
minable wars  between  that  monarch  and  the  English.  Like  his 
father,  he  had  also  to  dread  the  pretensions  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster ; 
and  it  was  equally  his  aim  to  occupy  the  ambitious  Plantagenet  with 
t)lher  affairs  than  disputing  his  succession. 

To  preserve  Portugal  as  an  ally,  Juan,  in  the  second  year  of 
his  reign,  consented  or  proposed  to  marry  his  infant  son  Enrique 
with  Beatrix,  presumptive  heiress  of  the  Lusitanian  crown.  Fer- 
dinand of  I'ortugal, — for  what  cause  it  would  be  vain  to  inquire, — 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      173 

1381-1385 

secretly  resolved  to  make  war  on  Castile;  and,  with  the  view  of 
strengthening  himself  by  the  alliance  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster,  he 
dispatched  a  trusty  messenger  to  obtain  the  co-operation  of  that 
prince,  who  readily  promised  it.  Juan,  who  was  soon  acquainted 
with  the  league,  resolved  to  anticipate  his  enemy :  off  Cape  St.  Vin- 
cent his  fleet  triumphed,  in  1381,  over  that  of  Ferdinand,  and  Al- 
meida was  forced  to  submit  to  him.  The  arrival  from  England  of 
the  earl  of  Cambridge,  brother  of  the  duke,  with  500  men-at-arms 
and  as  many  archers  roused  the  courage  of  the  Portuguese,  but  did 
them  little  service.  Wearied  alike  with  his  allies  and  the  war, 
Ferdinand,  in  1382,  solicited  and  obtained  peace,  and  the  English 
returned  home.  The  death  of  the  queen  of  Castile  leaving  Enrique 
a  widower,  Ferdinand  offered  him  the  Princess  Beatrix,  who  had 
been  successively  promised  to  his  brother,  to  his  two  sons,  and  even 
to  the  son  of  the  earl  of  Cambridge,  on  condition,  however,  that  the 
issue  of  the  marriage,  whether  male  or  female,  should  be  the 
sovereign  of  Portugal,  and  that  he  himself  should  have  no  share  in 
the  administration  so  long  as  Leonora,  the  Portuguese  queen,  should 
survive  Ferdinand.  This  condition,  so  characteristic  of  Portuguese 
dislike  of  Castilian  sway,  did  not  prevent  Juan  from  marrying  the 
princess.  Ferdinand  died  the  very  year  of  this  marriage,  and  his 
death  opened  the  door  to  new  hostilities. 

Though  Juan  and  his  new  queen  were,  in  fact,  excluded  by  the 
treaty  accompanying  their  union,  he  no  less  eagerly  claimed  the 
crown  in  her  right,  and  several  of  the  Portuguese  nobles  admitted 
the  justice  of  that  claim.  Even  the  widowed  queen,  Leonora, 
caused  her  daughter  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  capital,  but  the  bulk 
of  the  towns  and  prelates  refused  to  acknowledge  her,  and  declared 
Don  Juan,  bastard  brother  of  Ferdinand,  regent  of  Portugal.  The 
latter  prepared  to  vindicate  his  right,  when  Urban  VL,  whom  he 
had  refused  to  recognize,  raised  up  against  him  his  old  enemy,  the 
duke  of  Lancaster,  who  was  persuaded  by  that  pope  again  to  invade 
Castile.  The  usurper  Juan  was  no  less  anxious  to  secure  the  co- 
operation of  the  Plantagenet,  whose  departure  to  claim  the  crown 
of  Castile  he  began  to  urge  with  success.  To  frustrate  the  double 
object  of  this  alliance,  the  Castilian.  in  1384,  entered  the  kingdom, 
received  the  homage  of  his  adherents,  and  proceeded  to  invest  the 
capital :  but  his  troops  were  ignobly  defeated  by  those  of  his  rival ; 
even  the  queen-mother  scorned  to  favor  his  pretensions,  and  he  was 
constrained  to  abandon  the  sieire  and  return  into  his  dominions. 


174.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1385-1387 

In  1385  the  states  of  Coimbra  proclaimed  his  rival  king,  who  began 
vigorously  to  invest  the  places  which  held  for  him.  Fortune  at- 
tended the  arms  of  the  Lusitanian,  who  successively  obtained  posses- 
sion of  the  chief  fortilied  places,  and,  in  several  partial  engagements, 
was  hailed  as  victor.  A  greater  and  a  decisive  action  was  now 
at  hand.  Though  he  had  but  10,000  men,  he  marched  against  the 
Castilian  king,  who  met  him  with  an  army  of  at  least  34,000, 
in  which  were  2,000  French  knights.  The  two  armies  met  near 
Aljubarota,  a  village  in  Portuguese  Estremadura,  where,  by  the 
advice  of  the  English  knight  who  served  in  his  army,  the  Lusitanian 
entrenched  his  followers  in  a  position  of  some  strength.  The-action 
commenced  towards  sunset  on  a  fine  summer  evening  (August  14) 
and  was,  for  a  short  time,  maintained  with  great  spirit  on  both  sides. 
In  th.e  end  the  Portuguese  obtained  a  splendid  victory,  most  of  the 
Castilian  chivalry  and  10,000  of  the  infantry  being  left  dead  on 
the  field :  the  king  himself  v/ith  difficulty  effected  his  escape. 

To  profit  by  this  victory,  the  Portuguese  monarch  commanded 
his  barons  to  make  an  irruption  into  Castile,  while  he  himself  dis- 
patched to  the  duke  of  Lancaster  a  circumstantial  account  of  this 
signal  success.  The  latter  now  burned  to  assert  his  rights  by  other 
means  than  threats,  or  by  the  mere  report  of  his  preparations :  he 
actually  left  England  with  a  small  but  choice  armament  (about 
1,500  knights  and  as  many  archers),  accompanied  by  his  wife,  the 
Lady  Constanza,  and  his  three  daughters.  In  July,  1386,  he  ap- 
peared off  the  coast  of  Galicia,  and  ultimately  landed  at  El  Padron : 
thence  he  proceeded  to  Santiago,  where  he  was  solemnly  proclaimed 
king  of  Castile  and  Leon.  In  the  spring  of  1387  the  cluke  and  the 
Portuguese  king  arrived  at  Benevento ;  but  their  progress  was 
stayed  by  the  plague,  which  daily  made  great  ravages  in  their  ranks. 
After  the  conquest  of  a  few  towns  and  fortresses  the  allied  army 
retired  into  Portugal.  The  duke  himself  was  seriously  indisposed 
in  body,  and  C(jnse(|uently  dispirited.  Their  retreat  was  hastened 
by  intclhoence  of  tlic  troubles  v/hich  raged  in  England,  and  which 
ended  in  tlie  imprisonment  and  eventually  the  death  of  the  un- 
fortunate Richard  II. 

The  reign  of  Juan  I.  was  one  of  continued  troubles,  which, 
though  Ins  abilities  were  moderate,  his  firmness  prevented  from 
nnnnig  tlic  state,  or  endangering  liis  own  power.  Once  indeed, 
durmg  the  (iis])nted  snccession  to  the  Lusitanian  crown,  he  seriously 
intended  to  resign  in  favor  of  his  own  son  Enri(|ue,  who,  as  the  son 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      175 

1390-1418 

of  Beatrix,  daughter  of  Ferdinand,  was  the  true  heir  to  the  Portu- 
guese no  less  than  the  Castilian  throne.  His  object  was  to  secure 
the  execution  of  the  treaty  made  with  that  prince  and  forever  to 
unite  the  two  crowns.  But  his  nobles,  who  were  evidently  no  less 
averse  to  such  a  union  than  their  western  neighbors,  not  merely 
advised  but  compelled  him  to  preserve  his  dignity.  The  last  years 
of  his  reign  were  disturbed  by  the  hostilities  of  those  neighbors, 
but  they  were  too  obscure  in  themselves  and  too  unimportant  in 
their  consequences  to  deserve  notice. 

Enrique  IIL,  surnamed  the  Infirm,  being  no  more  than  eleven 
years  of  age  on  his  accession,  no  one  will  be  surprised  that  in  so 
turbulent  a  kingdom  his  minority  should  occasion  many  dissensions. 

When  in  1393  the  young  king  assumed  the  reins  of  sov- 
ereignty hopes  were  naturally  entertained  that  growing  passions 
would  be  hushed,  and  rival  factions  reconciled,  before  the  concen- 
trated power  of  royalty.  But  though  Enrique  showed  no  want  of 
spirit,  or  even  of  energy,  he  was  unable  to  restore  internal  peace. 
The  ambition  of  his  uncle  Fadrique,  duke  of  Benevento,  and  the 
hostility  of  the  Lusitanian  king,  gave  him  sufficient  occupation  and 
made  the  minds  of  his  people  strangers  to  security.  Others  of  his 
subjects,  among  whom  was  another  uncle,  the  count  de  Gijon,  were 
not  slow  to  profit  by  the  example  of  the  duke  of  Venevento,  nor 
were  these  commotions  appeased  by  the  force  so  much  as  by  the 
liberalities  of  Enrique.  As  to  the  war  with  Portugal,  its  only  no- 
table success  was  the  surprise  of  Badajoz  by  King  Juan.  Enrique, 
indeed,  had  his  revenge  by  some  inroads  into  the  enemy's  territory, 
but  neither  by  force  nor  negotiation  could  he  recover  the  bulwark  of 
Estremadura.  A  truce  of  ten  years,  concluded  in  the  last  year  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  restored  tranquillity  to  his  harassed  frontier. 

Enrique  was  a  well-intentioned  prince,  and  beloved  by  his 
people,  whoses  burdens  he  sought  to  alleviate.  In  1401  he  con- 
voked the  Cortes  at  Tordesillas,  where  he  caused  to  be  enacted 
many  excellent  laws,  circumscribing  tb.e  powers  and  restraining 
the  rapacity  of  the  judges.  He  died  the  first  day  of  the  year  1407, 
lea\-ing  a  son,  the  infante  Juan,  by  his  queen,  Catherine,  under  two 
}'ears  of  age. 

Juan  II.  being  at  so  tender  an  age,  fears  were  entertained  lest 
the  infante  h^rnando,  brother  to  the  late  king,  who  in  conjuction 
with  the  queen-mother  was  intrusted  with  the  regency,  should  seize 
the  crown.     The  factions  which  fiourished  at  court  soon  extended 


176  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

**"  1419-1427 

their  ramifications  into  the  great  towns  of  the  kingdom.  In  1418 
Catherine  herself  paid  the  common  debt  of  nature,  and  from  the 
time  of  her  feeble  son's  assuming  the  sovereignty  may  be  dated  a 
melancholy  series  of  commotions  and  disasters. 

From  the  day  in  which  Juan  assembled  his  first  Cortes  (held 
at  Madrid  in  March,  1419),  he  exhibited  the  moral  weakness  of 
his  character,  and  too  plainly  showed  that  his  mind  was  formed  for 
obedience,  not  for  command.  This  reign,  in  consequence,  ought 
not  so  much  to  be  called  his  own  as  that  of  his  favorites,  especially 
of  Don  Alvaro  de  Luna,  a  man  fatally  memorable  in  the  Castilian 
annals.  The  first  serious  disturbance  arose  from  the  disappointed 
love  or  ambition  of  Don  Enrique,  infante  of  Aragon,  who  claimed 
the,  hand  of  the  Princess  Catalina,  the  king's  sister.  Being  re- 
pulsed by  that  princess,  and  disappointed  in  his  hope  of  aid  from  the 
favorites  of  Juan,  he  resolved  to  effect  by  force  what  he  could  not 
obtain  by  other  means. 

Juan  had  neither  vigor  enough  to  punish  his  enemies  nor 
gratitude  enough  to  reward  his  adherents.  While  Enrique  long 
escaped  with  impunity,  rather  through  the  impotence  than  favor  of 
the  king,  tliose  who  had  rescued  him  from  thraldom  were  wholly 
overlooked.  The  people  soon  saw  that  the  dominion  of  one  set  of 
favorites  was  only  replaced  by  that  of  another.  After  remaining 
in  arms  about  two  years,  Enrique  at  length,  confiding  in  the  royal 
protestations  of  clemency,  laid  down  his  arms,  proceeded  to  court, 
and  was  immediately  imprisoned.  The  dignity  of  constable  was 
taken  from  Ruy  Lopez  de  Avalos,  then  in  Valencia,  and  conferred 
on  Alvaro  de  Luna,  and  the  possessions  of  that  baron  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  hungry  parasites  of  the  court.  At  length,  in 
1425,  Enrique  obtained  both  his  liberty  and  the  restoration  of  his 
honors  and  estates  through  the  threats  rather  than  the  entreaties 
of  his  brother,  the  king  of  Aragon.     He  retired  to  Tarazona. 

If  Enrique  was  absent  from  the  kingdom,  he  had  yet  many 
adherents  who  wished  for  his  return.  The  league  formed  against 
Don  Alvaro  gained  accessions  every  day.  As  early  as  1427  it  was 
bold  cnongli  to  present  a  remonstrance  to  the  king,  insisting  on  the 
dismission  of  tliat  baron  and  others  from  his  councils.  Jealousy  of 
his  immense  favor  appears  to  have  been  the  only  cause  of  the  per- 
.'^ccution  urged  against  him.  For  the  time,  however,  Alvaro  was 
compelled  to  retire  to  Ayllon,  carrying  with  him  the  affections  of 
the  king;  and  Enriciue  returned  to  the  court  in  the  hope  of  resum- 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      177 

1427-1439 

ing  his  former  influence.  But  the  exiled  constable,  like  the  prince, 
had  his  partisans,  who,  knowing  the  royal  sentiments,  did  not 
despair  of  procuring  his  honorable  recall.  To  this  end  they  labored 
so  effectually;  such  were  the  troubles  they  artfully  contrived  to 
excite,  which  they  represented  as  impossible  to  be  allayed  by  any 
other  than  himself ;  such  too  were  the  dissensions  of  those  who  now 
aspired  to  the  king's  confidence,  and  who  were  more  jealous  of  one 
another  than  even  of  Alvaro, — that  in  a  few  short  months  he  was 
invited  to  resume  his  place  in  the  councils  of  the  kingdom.  He  pre- 
tended great  reluctance  to  leave  his  retirement,  and  did  not  comply 
with  the  invitation  until  it  had  been  thrice  made. 

No  sooner  was  the  constable  re-established  in  his  master's 
favor  than  he  was  again  exposed  to  the  sting  of  the  courtly  insects. 
The  discontented  Castilians  had  no  difficulty  in  forming  against 
him  a  new  league,  supported  as  before  by  the  brother  kings  of 
Aragon  and  Navarre.  Finding  that  remonstrances  were  of  no 
avail,  the  two  sovereigns  invaded  Castile,  protesting  that  they  would 
see  justice  done  their  brother  Enrique,  and  a  second  time  remove 
the  favorite,  whom  they  professed  to  regard  not  only  as  his  enemy 
but  their  own.  Having  effected  a  junction  with  the  infante,  they 
marched  against  the  constable,  whom  they  met  near  Coguallado. 
The  forces  of  both  parties  were  preparing  for  action,  when  after 
a  few  unimportant  actions,  in  which  no  advantage  was  gained  on 
either  side,  both  agreed  on  a  truce  of  five  years. 

During  the  next  few  years  Castile,  at  peace  with  all  her 
neighbors  except  Granada,  offers  nothing  to  strike  the  attention. 
Murmurs  at  the  gradually  increasing  power  of  the  constable,  whom 
the  king  took  every  opportunity  of  enriching,  and  without  whose 
advice  nothing  was  undertaken,  were  indeed  sufficiently  frequent ; 
but  no  open  revolt  agitated  the  kingdom  until  1439.  Now,  how- 
ever, a  new  league  was  formed  against  him,  headed  as  usual  by 
Enrique  and  the  king  of  Navarre  (Alfonso  of  Aragon  was  no 
longer  in  a  state  to  dictate  to  his  brother  of  Castile),  the  members 
of  which  loudly  demanded  the  removal  of  the  obnoxious  favorite. 
To  dispel  the  approaching  storm,  Don  Alvaro  retired  for  a  time 
from  the  court ;  but  the  confederates  refused  to  lay  down  their  arms 
until  he  should  be  forever  driven  from  the  royal  presence.  To 
appease  his  barons,  the  king  convoked  his  Cortes  at  Valladolid: 
such  a  step  was  become  necessary,  for  the  leaguers  had  seized  on 
some  of  his  chief  cities   and  were  preparing  to  proceed  still  further. 


178  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1443-1445 

The  first  act  of  the  assembly  was  to  recommend  that  all  parties 
should  disarm — the  king  as  well  as  the  infante,  the  constable  as 
well  as  the  king  of  Navarre.  But  this  recommendation  led  to  no 
result :  both  parties  continued  exasperated  as  before.  That  of  the 
king  was  weakened  by  the  desertion  of  his  only  son,  Prince  Enrique, 
who  espoused  the  cause  of  the  confederates.  The  queen  followed 
the  example  of  her  son :  in  short,  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  so 
menacing  that  Don  Alvaro  began  to  turn  his  eyes  towards  Portugal 
in  search  of  an  asylum.  Through  the  persuasion  of  the  king, 
however,  who  assured  him  that  everything  should  be  arranged  to 
his  wish,  he  consented  to  await  the  result. 

The  horrors  of  internal  strife  were  now  felt  in  all  their  force: 
city  after  city  was  invested  and  taken  by  the  confederate  rebels, 
who  showed  little  mercy  to  the  partisans  of  the  king  and  constable. 
In  vain  did  Juan  whisper  peace;  in  vain  did  he  prepare  to  abide  by 
the  decision  of  his  states,  which  he  might  summon  for  the  purpose : 
as  he  did  not  at  once  and  forever  banish  Don  Alvaro  from  his  pres- 
ence, his  entreaties  and  remonstrances  were  equally  disregarded. 
At  length,  finding  that  he  was  unable  to  contend  with  his  queen,  his 
son,  and  his  barons,  he  consented,  in  a  conference  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  insurgents,  not  only  to  dismiss  from  court  all  the  creatures 
of  the  constable,  but  to  forbid  the  obnoxious  favorite  his  presence 
during  six  years.  The  indiscretion,  hov/ever,  of  Don  Alvaro,  who 
from  his  retreat  at  San  Martin  unsuccessfully  endeavored  to  sow 
dissension  among  the  confederates,  made  them  resolve  on  his  utter 
destruction.  Their  first  object,  which  they  easily  effected,  was  to 
keep  their  sovereign  a  kind  of  prisoner  in  his  own  palace.  Though 
their  subsequent  efforts  were  somewhat  paralyzed  by  the  defection 
of  Prince  Enrique,  who  even  called  on  all  good  men  to  aid  him  in 
rescuing  his  father  from  a  slavish  dependence  on  them,  they  per- 
sexered  not  the  less  in  their  design.  They  took  the  field  against 
both  tb.e  ])rince  and  the  father,  who  now  contrived  to  escape,  and 
reach  the  camp  of  the  former.  But  on  this  occasion  fortune  de- 
clared for  the  side  of  justice;  the  confederates  were  routed  and 
dispersed  in  several  successive  actions  and  their  strong  places  re- 
covered l)y  the  royal  forces.  Finally,  the  victory  of  Olmedo,  gained 
by  Juan  in  person  over  the  two  brothers,  the  acquisition  of  a 
considerable  number  of  prisoners,  and  the  death  of  Enrique,  through 
a  wrnind  received  in  that  battle,  appeared  to  consolidate  both  the 
jiower  (-f  the  king  and  the  influence  of  the  favorite. 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      179 

1445-1453 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  Olmedo  the  partiaHty  of  the  monarch 
began  to  be  weakened.  The  first  known  subject  of  dissatisfaction 
arose  from  the  negotiations  for  a  new  marriage  (the  king  had  been 
some  time  a  widower)  :  Juan  wished  for  a  daughter  of  Charles 
VIL  of  France ;  the  constable  forced  on  him  a  princess  of  Portugal. 
Such,  however,  was  his  habitual  submission  to  the  will  of  the 
favorite,  that  he  concealed  his  discontent,  and  shortly  afterwards 
even  prevailed  on  the  knights  of  Santiago  to  elect  the  constable  for 
their  grand  master.  In  short,  besides  the  habitual  sway  which  he 
exercised  over  the  royal  mind,  he  was  too  powerful,  both  from  his 
alliances  and  the  number  of  his  armed  dependents,  to  be  bearded 
even  by  a  king.  Years  accordingly  elapsed  before  Juan  could  put 
into  execution  his  long-meditated  design  of  destroying  his  constable. 
It  was  not  until  the  year  1453  that  he  seriously  resolved  to  rid 
himself  of  his  formidable  minister;  and  the  caution  with  which  he 
proceeded  in  that  resolution  proves  at  once  the  cowardice  and  mean- 
ness of  his  character.  Instead  of  openly  arresting  the  constable, 
he  secretly  implored  the  count  de  Plasencia  to  seize  or  even  to 
assassinate  Don  Alvaro.  But  the  latter,  who  had  spies  everywhere, 
was  soon  acquainted  with  much  of  what  had  been  decided  against 
him. 

Don  Alvaro  was  at  Burgos  when  the  order  for  his  arrest  was 
given  by  the  king  to  the  son  of  the  count  de  Plasencia,  to  take  him 
dead  or  alive.  During  the  night  troops  were  secretly  placed  in 
various  parts  of  the  city,  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  fortress,  into 
which  some  men  at  arms  were  silently  introduced.  The  royal 
order  was  to  invest  the  house  in  which  the  constable  resided,  and 
thereby  compel  him  to  surrender.  Accordingly,  the  young  Zuniga, 
with  200  men  at  arms  and  twenty  horsemen,  surrounded  the  house, 
exclaiming,  "  Castilla!  Casfilla!  libcrtad  para  cl  Rcy!"  The  con- 
stable showed  his  head  from  a  window,  but  an  arrow  being  shot 
at  him,  he  withdrew  it,  and  his  men  began  to  fire  on  the  royal  troops. 
The  assault  was  repelled,  but  he  himself  was  at  length  persuaded  to 
surrender,  on  receiving  an  assurance  in  writing,  under  the  king's 
own  hand,  that  his  life,  liberty,  and  even  possessions  should  be 
spared.  No  sooner,  however,  was  he  secured  than  his  gold  and 
jewels  were  seized  ])y  the  faithless  monarch,  and  orders  given  to 
try — in  other  words,  to  condemn  him.  Twelve  lawyers  and  several 
barons,  being  assembled  for  this  purpose,  unanimously  passed  on 
him  the  last  sentence,  and  the  confiscation  of  all  his  possessions. 


180  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

^"  1453-1458 

From  Burgos  he  was  conducted  to  Valladolid,  where  the  execution 
was  appointed  to  take  place.  He  prepared  for  death  with  firmness, 
and  with  apparent  contrition  for  his  past  misdeeds.  When  near  the 
scaffold  he  called  a  page  of  the  prince,  and  said  to  him,  "  Page, 
tell  my  lord  the  prince  to  reward  his  servants  better  than  the  king 
my  sovereign  now  rewards  me!  "  He  ascended  with  a  firm  step, 
knelt  for  a  few  moments  before  a  crucifix,  bared  his  neck  with  his 
own  hands,  and  quietly  laid  his  head  on  the  block,  when  the  exe- 
cutioner plunged  the  knife  into  his  throat,  and  afterwards  separated 
the  head  from  the  body,  amidst  the  tears  of  the  surrounding  multi- 
tude. 

Thus  fell  the  great  constable  of  Castile,  the  victim  chiefly  of 
his  own  immeasurable  ambition,  and  in  no  mean  degree  of  courtier 
jealousy,  and  of  royal  faithlessness.  If  his  crimes  were  many,  they 
were  characteristic  rather  of  the  age  than  of  the  man:  he  was 
certainly  no  more  criminal  than  the  great  body  of  the  Castilian 
l)arons.  who  despised  alike  justice  and  reason  when  violence  could 
secure  their  ends.  To  him  the  queen  was  indebted  for  her  crown, 
yet  she  persecuted  him  with  unrelenting  hatred. 

Juan  II.  did  not  long  survive  the  constable:  he  died  in  1454. 
He  was  one  of  the  weakest  and  most  despicable  princes  that  ever 
swayed  the  scepter  of  any  country.  Besides  two  sons,  he  left  issue 
the  infante  Isabella,  so  famous  in  the  annals  of  Spain. 

The  reign  of  Enrique  IV.,  surnamed  the  Impotent,  was  even 
more  disastrous  than  that  of  his  father.  That  this  surname  was  not 
undeserved,  we  hax'e  the  testimony  of  his  own  wife,  Blanche  of 
Navarre,  whom  he  led  to  the  altar  in  1440,  and  who,  after  a  union 
of  thirteen  years,  could  complain  that  the  dcbitiim  conjiigalc  re- 
mained unpaid.  On  this  ground  in  1453  ^^'^^  marriage  was  an- 
nulled, and  the  unfortunate  princess  returned  to  her  family.  After 
his  accession,  however,  he  solicited  and  obtained  the  hand  of  a 
Portuguese  infanta. 

iM-oni  the  rebellious  conduct  of  this  prince  towards  his  own 
father,  it  could  scarcely  be  expected  that  he  would  be  allowed  to 
sway  tlie  scepter  in  peace.  Besides  the  disputes  which  he  had  with 
the  crowns  of  Navarre  and  Aragon,  he  was  perpetually  subjected  to 
the  insults  no  less  than  tlie  defiance  of  his  turbulent  nobles,  and  to 
the  i)artiril  revolts  of  the  people  whom  the  exactions  of  his  revenue 
ofticcrs  never  failed  to  exas])erate.  In  1458  his  subjects  were  not  a 
little  surprised  to  perceive  among  his  advisers  and  new  favorites 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      181 

1458-1467 

Doiia  Guiomar  de  Castro,  one  of  the  queen's  attendants.  The  noto- 
rious imputation  cast  on  his  viriHty  might  probably  have  driven  him 
to  such  a  step ;  possibly,  too,  as  he  and  his  creatures  contended,  time 
had  invigorated  him.  However  this  be,  certain  it  is  that  the  queen 
was  jealous  of  the  new  mistress,  though  that  jealousy  might  arise  as 
much  from  seeing  another  the  exclusive  channel  of  royal  favors  as 
from  a  more  delicate  cause.  On  one  occasion  she  exhibited  the  feel- 
ing in  a  manner  little  decorous.  To  prevent  the  repetition  of  such 
scenes,  the  minion  was  removed  from  the  palace  and  splendidly 
established  at  a  village  in  the  vicinity  of  Madrid. 

In  the  meantime,  the  confederates  seeing  the  ill-success  of  their 
former  remonstrance,  again  proceeded  to  strengthen  their  league: 
they  presented  a  second,  drawn  up  in  more  decided  terms  than  the 
preceding;  and,  besides,  insisted  that  the  king  should  pay  more 
regard  to  the  education  of  the  infantes,  Alfonso  and  Isabella,  and 
cause  the  former  to  be  recognized  as  his  heir  by  the  states  of  the 
kingdom.  As  his  answer  was  evasive,  they  again  placed  the  king 
of  Aragon  and  Navarre  ^  at  their  head,  and  labored  by  every  means 
to  obstruct  the  course  of  his  government.  Hostilities  between  him 
and  that  monarch  were  the  consequence ;  but  they  led  to  nothing. 
His  satisfaction  was  increased  by  the  pregnancy  of  his  queen,  who, 
early  in  1462,  was  delivered  of  a  daughter,  the  infanta  Juana. 
Though  popular  report  did  not  hesitate  to  assign  the  child  to  the 
familiarity  of  the  mother  with  Don  Beltran  de  la  Cueva,  count  of 
Ledesma,  one  of  Enrique's  favorites,  and  even  applied  to  that  issue 
the  significant  epithet  of  Beltraneja,  the  latter  was  the  no  less  eager 
in  securing  the  recognition  of  the  princess  as  heiress  to  his  do- 
minions. 

In  1464,  after  some  partially  unsuccessful  inroads  into  Cata- 
lonia, the  inhabitants  of  which  had  placed  tliemselves  under  his  pro- 
tection, and  even  acknowledged  him  as  their  sovereign,  Enrique 
made  peace  with  the  Aragonese,  and  thereby  forsook  the  Catalans. 
But  if  one  enemy  was  thus  appeased,  a  more  formidable  one  re- 
mained in  his  own  barons  and  courtiers,  who  were  generally  in 
arms  against  him,  and  who  constantly  refused  even  to  confer  with 
him  in  person  until  he  had  given  hostages  for  their  safety.  Their 
avowed  object  was  still  to  procure  the  recognition  of  tlie  infante 
Alf(jnso,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  Beltraneja,  whom  nobody  regarded 
as  his. 

^  Juan  of  Navarre  had  also  succeeded  to  tlie  crown  of   Ara.c^on. 


182  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1467-1469 

Enrique  was  naturally  anxious  to  punish  the  rebels,  but  their 
attitude  was  too  formidable  for  him.  They  continued  under  arms, 
besieging  fortress  after  fortress,  and  wreaking  vengeance  alike  on 
their  personal  and  political  enemies.  Thus  continued  the  face  of 
affairs  until  1467,  when  Enrique  resolved  to  risk  a  battle  with  the 
rebels,  lie  met  them  near  Olmedo,  where,  after  a  fierce  but  inde- 
cisive struggle,  both  armies  left  the  field,  each  boasting  of  the 
victory.  This  event,  however,  did  not  prevent  the  king  from  meet- 
ing the  leaders  at  Segovia,  where  a  suspension  of  arms  was  agreed 
on.  The  following  year  his  rival,  the  infante  Alfonso,  died, — an 
event  highly  favorable  to  the  king.  The  rebels,  indeed,  proposed 
to  raise  the  infanta  Isabella,  his  sister,  to  the  throne,  and  thereby 
perpetuate  their  own  impunity;  but  that  princess,  who  had  principles 
and  an  understanding  far  above  her  years,  refused  to  accept  the 
criminal  dignity  or  to  become  the  tool  of  a  few  factious  rebels. 
Though  she  was  proclaimed  at  Seville  and  other  parts  of  Anda- 
lusia, tlie  treason  was  not  hers,  but  her  pretended  partisans'.  Some 
of  the  discontented  lords  now  returned  to  their  duty;  finally  peace 
was  made  between  the  king  and  the  rest :  Isabella  and  Enrique  met 
with  every  appearance  of  good  will  and  that  princess  was  recognized, 
both  by  him  and  the  great  body  of  the  barons  and  deputies,  as  the 
undoubted  heiress  of  the  two  crowns.  The  queen,  indeed,  protested 
against  this  arrangement  in  favor  of  her  daughter,  but  her  com- 
plaints passed  unheeded. 

In  the  same  year  was  laid  the  foundation  of  a  union  which 
was  to  prove  of  such  unbounded  value  to  Spain :  Juan  II.  of  Aragon 
solicited  the  hand  of  Isabella  of  Castile  for  his  son  and  heir  Don 
I'^erdinand,  king  of  Sicily.  The  overture  was  formally  received  by 
tb.e  princess,  but  obstacles  of  so  formidable  a  nature  intervened 
tliat  for  some  time  there  was  little  hope  of  a  successful  issue  to  the 
negotiations.  Neitlier  the  king  nor  the  queen  wished  to  see  the 
cause  of  Isabella  su])ported  by  so  powerful  a  neighbor  as  the  future 
monarch  of  Aragon  would  necessarrily  be;  but  her  adherents  de- 
cided on  bringing  the  affair  as  soon  as  possible  to  a  conclusion.  The 
whole  negotiation  was  secretly  conducted,  the  rather  as  the  princess 
was  souglit  both  by  the  duke  de  Berri,  brother  to  the  French  king, 
and  by  the  monarch  of  Portugal,  whose  agents  were  sure  to  oppose 
every  oljstacle  in  their  power  to  the  union  with  Aragon.  For  a 
time  she  was  a  i)risi)ncr  in  Madrigal  where  it  was  evidently  in- 
tended to  detain  her  until  she  gave  her  consent  to  either  the  Portu- 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      183 

1469-1474 

guese  or  the  Frenchman.  The  former  was  considered  too  old  to 
have  issue,  the  latter  was  too  far  removed  to  be  dreaded.  She  con- 
trived to  acquaint  her  friends  with  her  unexpected  position.  The 
primate  immediately  collected  300  lances  and  marched  to  her  re- 
lief:  the  admiral  of  Castile  and  the  bishop  of  Curia  did  the  same: 
she  was  released  and  triumphantly  escorted  to  Valladolid.  Ferdi- 
nand was  invited  to  hasten  from  Aragon  with  all  possible  expedi- 
tion, while  Enrique  was  absent  in  Andalusia,  and  receive  his  bride. 
As  he  was  likely  to  be  intercepted  on  his  reaching  the  Castilian 
territory,  he  assumed  a  suitable  disguise,  and  with  three  attendants 
only,  eluded  the  design  of  his  enemies.  On  October  25,  1469,  the 
royal  pair  received  the  nuptial  benediction  in  the  cathedral  of 
Valladolid. 

No  sooner  was  Enrique  acquainted  with  this  precipitate  mar- 
riage than  he  resolved  to  leave  no  measure  untried  for  securing  the 
crown  to  the  Beltraneja.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Princess  Isabella 
was  not  backward  in  publishing  her  claims,  the  validity  of  which 
had  been  recognized  by  Enrique  himself.  On  the  whole,  however, 
the  partisans  of  Isabella  increased,  while  Enrique  was  unable  to  find 
his  pretended  daughter  a  husband  and  protector  in  any  of  the  neigh- 
boring royal  families.  To  suspend,  at  least,  the  strife  which  had 
so  long  raged  between  the  parties,  he  was  persuaded,  in  1473,  to 
hold  an  interview  with  his  sister,  and  the  pleasure  which  he  evi- 
dently took  in  seeing  her  made  her  adherents  hope  that  he  would 
again  sanction  her  rights.  The  hope  was  strengthened,  when,  at 
Segovia,  early  in  the  following  year,  he  showed  considerable  atten- 
tion to  Ferdinand  himself.  But  this  king  was  too  fickle  in  dispo- 
sition and  too  mutable  in  character  to  persevere  long  in  any  given 
line  of  conduct :  he  again  sought  for  an  opportunity  of  entrapping 
and  imprisoning  the  infanta  and  her  husband,  but  his  purpose  was 
divined  and  eluded.  This  weak  monarch, — weak  even  to  helpless- 
ness,— died  near  the  close  of  1474;  by  his  last  will  he  declared  the 
young  Juana  his  successor,  and  charged  four  of  his  most  consider- 
able barons  with  its  execution.  The  desire  of  wiping  away  the  stain 
on  his  manhood  did  not  forsake  him  even  on  the  verge  of  the  grave. 

On  the  death  of  Enrique,  Ferdinand  was  at  Saragossa:but  his 
consort,  being  at  Segovia,  summoned  that  city  to  acknowledge 
her  and  v^-as  instantly  obeyed :  by  the  nobles  and  prelates  pres- 
ent both  were  solemnly  proclaimed  joint  sovereigns  of  Castile 
and   Leon.       On   his   return    from   Arasron   there   was   much   (lis- 


184  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1474-1479 

pute  as  U)  tlic  power  he  was  to  exereise  in  the  administration. 
After  fre(|ucnt  and  acrimonious  consuUations  it  was  agreed  that 
the  king  and  queen  should  reign  conjointly,  and  that  in  all  public 
acts  his  name  should  precede  hers;  but,  to  save  her  rights,  or  rather 
to  satisfy  Castilian  jealousy,  it  was  no  less  stipulated  that  without 
her  express  sanction  he  should  not  have  power  to  alienate  any  por- 
tion of  the  royal  rc\eiuies  or  domains  nor  to  nominate  the  gov- 
ernors of  towns  or  fortresses.  These  restrictions  were  far  from 
pleasing  to  h^erdinand,  wlio  was  immoderately  fond  of  power,  and 
who,  at  first,  even  threatened  to  return  into  his  hereditary  kingdom. 
His  indignation  was  disarmed  by  the  prudence  of  the  queen,  who, 
by  promising  submission  to  his  will,  averted  so  fatal  a  misfortune. 

But  if  the  majority  of  the  people  w^ere  in  favor  of  the  new 
reign,  there  were  yet  many  barons,  and  those  of  considerable  in- 
fluence, who  esp<^used  the  interests  of  Juana,  not  so  much  from  at- 
tachment to  that  princess,  whose  birth  they,  in  common  with  the 
rest  of  the  nation,  considered  dubious,  as  from  a  view  to  their  own 
individual  advantage.  However  important  the  stake  for  which  the 
two  parties  now  began  to  contend,  the  details  of  that  contention  are 
too  obscure  in  themselves,  and  were  too  indecisive,  to  merit  minute 
attention.  At  length  Alfonso  was  compelled  to  listen  to  pacific 
proposals.  Negotiations  were  opened,  and  in  September,  1479, 
satisfactorily  concluded  at  Alcacebas.  The  principal  conditions 
were  that  Alfonso  should  renounce  the  title  of  king  of  Castile;  that 
he  sliould  neither  marry,  nor  in  any  way  favor  the  pretensions  of 
Doha  Juana ;  that  "  this  pretended  daughter  of  the  late  king,  Don 
Enrique,"  should  be  allowed  six  months  to  decide  whether  she 
would  wait  until  the  infante  Juan  (only  child  of  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  then  only  a  year  old)  arrived  at  a  marriageable  age,  or 
take  the  veil ;  that  the  Portuguese  should  restore  the  few 
places  tliey  still  held  in  Estremadura.  It  w^as  added  that  if,  on 
arriving  at  a  proper  age,  the  infante  should  be  averse  to  the  match, 
he  had  only  to  pay  100,000  pistoles  to  be  at  liberty  to  marry  whom 
he  pleased.  1"hc  unfortunate  lady,  seeing  that  she  was  sacrificed 
to  the  interests  of  the  two  kings,  professed  in  the  convent  of  St. 
Clair  at  Coimbra. 

I  lie  very  year  in  which  peace  was  thus  happily  restored  be- 
tween Castile  and  Portugal.  Ferdinand  by  the  death  of  his  father, 
Juan  fl..  was  called  to  the  throne  of  Aragon.  Elaving  received  the 
homri^e    and  connrnicd  the  privileges  of  his  Aragonese  subjects  at 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      185 

1484-1520 

Saragossa,  of  the  Catalonians  at  Barcelona,  and  of  the  Valencians 
in  the  capital  of  that  province,  he  returned  into  Castile, 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  was  distinguished  for 
many  uncommon  things.  First,  they  were  noted  for  a  rigid  ad- 
ministration of  justice:  neither  for  money  nor  favor  would  they 
spare  the  guilty.  If  the  salutary  severity  of  these  sovereigns  had 
been  directed  only  against  the  perturbators  of  the  public  peace,  the 
brightness  of  their  fame  would  almost  have  been  unclouded.  Un- 
fortunately they  were  equally  severe  against  all  who  ventured  to 
differ  from  the  established  faith.  Against  apostates, — all  converts 
who,  after  baptism  reverted  to  Judaism,  or  the  faith  of  Islam, — 
their  hatred  was  implacable.  In  this  apostasy  Andalusia  was  the 
most  conspicuous.  The  inquisitional  tribunal  of  Seville,  alone,  in 
the  short  space  of  thirty-six  years, — from  1484  to  1520, — consigned 
4,000  victims  to  the  flames,  besides  many  times  that  number  con- 
demned to  the  galleys,  to  a  perpetual  or  limited  imprisonment,  and 
other  punishments.    Humanity  shudders  at  the  recital. 

The  intolerance,  no  less  than  the  folly,  of  the  Catholic  sov- 
ereigns was  still  more  conspicuous  in  regard  to  the  Jews,  Scarcely 
had  they  obtained  possession  of  Granada  than  they  promulgated  a 
decree  in  which  all  Jews  who  refused  to  embrace  Christianity  were 
ordered  to  be  expelled  from  the  kingdom  in  six  months.  That  per- 
secuted people  were  filled  with  equal  astonishment  and  dismay  at 
this  unexpected  mandate.  Many  consented  to  be  baptized,  but  the 
far  greater  number,  in  profound  despair,  prepared  to  leave  the  coun- 
try of  their  birth.  On  the  expiration  of  the  period  prescribed, 
83,000  removed  into  Portugal,  the  king  of  which  consented  to 
receive  them,  on  the  condition  of  their  submitting  to  a  capitation 
tax  of  one  crusado  for  every  individual.  About  30,000  families 
retired  to  France,  Italy,  and  Africa,  the  means  of  transport  being 
furnished  them  by  the  government.  By  the  Moors — the  most 
detestable,  because  the  most  perfidious  and  cruel  nation  on  earth — ■ 
they  were  treated  with  characteristic  barloarity.  Many  of  them 
were  known,  and  more  suspected,  to  have  swallowed  precious  stones; 
their  living  bodies  were  opened  by  the  savage  miscreants.  All  who 
fell  into  IMoorish  hands  were  stripped,  not  only  of  their  substance, 
but  of  their  very  clothing.  Such  as  escaped  returned  gradually 
and  in  small  numbers  at  a  time  to  the  Peninsula,  which,  to  the 
converts,  held  out  the  hand  of  hospitality,  and  even  of  brotherly 
affection. 


186  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1492 

The  establishment  of  the  inquisition  led  to  the  banishment  of 
the  Jews ;  the  latter,  in  its  turn,  to  the  persecution  of  the  Moham- 
medans. These  soon  found  that  their  religious  toleration,  so 
solemnly  guaranteed  by  the  articles  of  capitulation,  would  be  little 
respected  by  a  prince  who  did  not  always  hesitate  to  break  his  royal 
^vord — nor  even  his  oath — when  his  interests  or  his  bigotry  were 
concerned.  It  is  certain  that  from  the  very  year  in  which  Granada 
submitted  the  resolution  was  taken  to  convert  or  expel  the  Moors; 
but  their  numbers,  the  assistance  they  might  receive  from  Africa, 
and  the  unsettled  state  of  the  new  conquest  delayed  its  execution. 
In  1499,  however,  Ferdinand,  being  at  Granada,  seriously  entered 
on  what  he  doubtless  considered  a  path  of  stern  but  necessary  duty. 

In  other  respects  the  policy  of  Ferdinand  was  as  enlightened 
as  it  was  beneficial  to  the  country.  The  great  barons  had  been  too 
powerful  for  his  predecessors;  to  curtail  their  immunities  was  his 
constant  object.  By  encouraging  the  confederations  of  the  towns 
he  effectually  destroyed  their  influence  over  those  places  and,  by 
subjecting  them  to  the  ordinary  tribunals  of  justice,  he  still  further 
reduced  them  towards  a  level  with  his  other  subjects. 

The  final  subjugation  of  the  Mohammedans,  the  consolidation 
of  the  royal  power,  the  union  of  Aragon  to  Castile  and  Leon,  were 
noble  monuments  of  Ferdinand's  policy.  The  discovery  of  a  new 
world  by  the  famous  navigator,  Christopher  Columbus,  still  more 
strongly  attracts  the  notice  of  posterity  to  this  splendid  reign.  Into 
the  vast  field  of  American  discovery,  colonization,  and  history, 
whether  by  Spaniards  or  Portuguese, — a  subject  which,  to  do  it 
full  justice,  W'Ould  demand  as  many  pages  as  this  compendium  itself, 
— we  cannot  enter ;  and,  fortunately,  most  of  the  works  on  this  sub- 
ject are  of  so  easy  access  that  our  silence  need  not  be  regretted. 
To  Isabella  must  be  ascribed  the  glory  of  the  enterprise.  At  first 
she  received  with  natural  coldness  the  proposals  of  this  wonderful 
man ;  but  overcome  at  length  by  the  representation  of  a  monk,  the 
friend  of  Columbus,  and  still  more  by  the  resistless  reasoning  of 
the  navigator  himself,  whom  she  admitted  to  her  presence,  she  bor- 
rowed tlie  sum  of  money  necessary  for  the  armament  and  bade  him 
depart.  Tliis  was  in  April,  1492.  In  the  same  month  of  the  fol- 
lowing year  lie  returned  from  tliis  first  voyage,  bringing  with  him 
a  considerable  quantity  of  gold,  silver,  and  other  productions  of 
the  Xcw  World, — ^with  several  Indians, — convincing  proofs  of  his 
successful   adventure.      The  extraordinary  honors   with   which   he 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      187 

1493-1500 

was  received  by  the  astonished  sovereigns, — being  permitted  to 
remain  seated  in  their  presence,  and  created  admiral  of  the  Indies, 
with  suitable  means  of  supporting  the  dignity, — encouraged  him  to 
new  enterprises.  With  a  fleet  of  eighteen  vessels,  containing  1,200 
seamen,  300  mechanics,  12  priests,  to  convert  the  heathens,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  horses,  sheep,  etc.,  he  again  left  Spain,  in 
the  month  of  September,  1493,  and  happily  reached  his  destination. 
On  returning  from  his  second  voyage,  being  driven  by  stress  of 
weather  into  the  port  of  Lisbon,  he  was  compelled  to  acquaint  Don 
Joam  with  the  productions,  climate,  and  riches  of  the  New  World, 
and  the  monarch's  eagerness  for  wealth  and  empire  was  so  excited 
that  he  resolved  to  fit  out  some  vessels  of  discovery  in  the  same 
direction.  But  as,  by  a  papal  bull,  the  sovereignty  both  of  the 
regions  which  had  been  and  might  thenceforward  be  discovered 
was  conferred  on  Ferdinand  and  his  successors,  Joam  could  not 
decently  bid  the  expedition  depart  until  he  had  given  notice  of  his 
intention  to  the  Castilian  sovereigns.  This  having  been  done,  and 
arbitration  having  settled  the  boundaries  which  interested  Portu- 
gal, the  two  monarchs  divided  between  themselves  the  maritime 
dominion  of  the  globe ;  nor  could  they  see  how  soon  the  rude  hands 
of  the  English  and  Dutch  would  break  their  scepter. 

But  the  happiness  of  the  Catholic  sovereigns  was  not  com- 
mensurate with  the  splendor  which  surrounded  them.  To  whom 
must  their  magnificent  empire  devolve?  In  1497  the  infante  Juan 
their  only  son,  whom  they  had  just  married  to  the  Archduchess 
ATargarita  of  Austria,  died,  and  his  widow  was  soon  afterwards 
brought  to  bed  of  a  still-born  child.  Hence  their  daughters  only 
remained  through  whom  they  could  hope  to  transmit  their  scepter 
to  posterity;  but  even  in  this  expectation  they  were  doomed  to 
much  disappointment.  Doha  Isabella,  the  eldest  of  the  princesses, 
who  was  married  to  the  heir  of  the  Portuguese  monarchy,  was  left 
a  widow  as  soon  as  the  Archduchess  Alargarita.  and  though  she 
was  next  given  to  her  brother-in-law,  Don  Manuel,  now  become 
king  of  Portugal,  and  the  following  year  was  delivered  of  a  son, 
she  died  at  the  time;  nor  did  the  young  prince,  the  acknowledged 
heir  of  the  whole  Peninsula,  Navarre  excepted,  long  survive  her. 
Still,  to  be  prepared  against  every  possible  contingency,  they  mar- 
ried another  daughter,  the  Princess  i\laria,  to  the  Lusitanian 
widower;  and  tlieir  youngest,  Catherine,  destined  to  be  so  famous 
from  her  connection  with  the  English  Reformation,  first  to  Arthur, 


188  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1500-1504 

Prince  of  Wales,  and  next  to  Henry,  his  brother,  afterwards  Henry 
Vni.  Tlicir  hope  of  an  heir,  however,  rested  in  their  second 
daughter.  Juana,  the  wife  of  Phihp,  Archduke  of  Austria,  who,  in 
1500.  was  dehvercd  of  a  prince,  afterwards  Charles  V. 

Thus,  tlie  crown  of  Spain  was  to  devolve  on  a  foreign  brow, 
— the  first  example  of  the  kind  which  had  occurred  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  monarchy  by  Pelayo.  Their  disappointments,  too, 
were  embittered  by  the  unhappiness  of  their  children.  The  Princess 
Isabella,  who  had  always  shown  more  affection  for  the  cloister 
than  for  the  throne,  had  been  forced  into  the  marriage  and  died  a 
premature  and  painful  death.  Juana,  though  extravagantly  fond 
()(  her  hus1)and,  was  treated  by  him  with  the  most  marked  neglect, 
and  the  fate  of  Catherine  is  but  too  well  known. 

The  misfortunes  of  her  children  sunk  deeply  into  the  heart  of 
the  queen,  and  brought  on  a  melancholy  which  ended  in  her  death, 
at  Medina  del  Campo,  in  1504.  In  her  last  will  she  left  her 
daughter  Juana,  and  after  that  princess  her  grandson  Charles, 
heirs  to  the  monarchy.  As  Juana  was  too  weak  in  understanding 
to  be  intrusted  with  the  cares  of  government,  she  appointed  her 
husband  regent  of  the  kingdom  until  Charles  should  attain  his 
twentieth  year.  In  this  disposition  she  consulted  both  her  own  in- 
clination and  the  interests  of  her  people,  as  she  had  a  natural  dis- 
like to  the  vain,  weak,  and  profligate  Philip,  and  knew  that  the 
administration  could  not  be  continued  in  abler  hands  than  those 
which  held  it.  To  Ferdinand,  too,  she  bequeathed  the  administra- 
tion of  the  three  military  orders  during  his  life  and  half  the 
revenues  of  the  Indies. 

If  we  except  Queen  Elizabeth  and  Catherine  of  Russia,  no 
])rincess  of  modern  times  can  equal  Isabella  in  ability  or  in  the 
success  of  her  administration :  and,  in  the  qualities  of  her  heart, 
in  Christian  fervor,  and  an  unspotted  life,  how  far  does  she  not 
exceed  either!  Prudent  in  the  formation,  yet  prompt  in  the  execu- 
tion, of  her  plans;  severe  towards  guilt,  yet  merciful  towards  mis- 
I'Ttune:  unbending  in  her  purposes,  yet  submissive  to  her  husband; 
of  rigid  virtue,  yet  indulgent  to  minor  frailties;  devout  without 
ostentation,  and  proud  witliout  haughtiness:  feeling  towards  tlie 
])ains  of  others,  yet  exhibiting  no  sentiment  of  her  own.  she  might 
well  command  tlie  respect,  no  less  than  the  affection,  of  her  people. 

Ihit  ;il ready,  1)eff;re  Isabella  breathed  her  last,  had  the  dis- 
scir^idii-;   conimcnced    which    so   much    embittered    the   life   of  her 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      189 

1504-1505 

husband.  That,  by  the  Castilian  laws,  Juana  was  now  both  queen 
and  proprietor  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  Phihp,  in  right  of  his 
marriage,  might  claim  not  only  the  regal  title,  but  a  considerable 
share  in  the  administration,  were  admitted  by  many.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  last  will  of  Isabella,  who  had  constituted  her  husband 
regent  until  the  majority  of  Charles — the  experience  of  that 
prince — the  success  of  his  past  government — the  solid  benefits 
which  he  had  conferred  on  the  state, — and  the  unpopular  character 
of  Philip,  as  well  as  his  ignorance  of  the  language,  laws,  and  man- 
ners of  Castile, — induced  all  the  sober-judgihg  and  patriotic  part 
of  the  nation  to  wish  for  a  continuance  of  the  present  rule.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  the  momentous  question  was  agitated  with 
more  prejudice  than  reason.  The  efforts  of  Ferdinand  to  curb 
the  violence  of  the  aristocracy — his  prudent  economy — his  firm 
sway, — and  the  aversion  of  many  Castilians  to  the  sole  domination 
of  an  Aragonese,  had  created  many  enemies.  More  hoped  that 
under  a  weak  and  lenient  prince  like  Philip  their  love  of  power 
and  their  avarice  would  be  equally  gratified.  Hence,  it  is  no  won- 
der that  an  opposition,  at  once  systematic  and  violent,  was  formed 
to  the  pretensions  of  Ferdinand, — an  opposition  too  loud  to  permit 
the  soft  whisper  of  policy  or  gratitude  to  be  heard. 

Ferdinand  was  fond  of  power,  and  his  first  steps  showed  that 
he  would  strive  to  maintain  it.  Having  caused  his  daughter  and 
her  husband  to  be  proclaimed  queen  and  king  of  Castile,  he  con- 
voked the  Cortes  at  Toro,  early  in  1505,  to  procure  their  sanction 
to  his  regency.  The  majority  readily  granted  it ;  but  not  a  few 
of  the  discontented,  because  disappointed,  nobles  retired  from  Toro 
in  disgust,  assembled  others  of  the  same  faction  at  Valladolid, 
and  pressed  Philip  to  come  and  assume  the  administration  of  the 
kingdom.  Philip  then  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Charles  VHL 
of  France,  the  enemy  of  Ferdinand,  by  whose  aid  he  hoped  to 
make  head  against  the  regent.  In  the  meantime  the  factious 
nobles,  who,  though  constituting  a  minority  in  point  of  numbers, 
were  all-powerful  from  their  stations  and  alliances,  continually 
urged  Philip  to  appear  among  them,  and  throw  every  obstacle  in 
the  path  of  the  regent.  Seeing  the  ungrateful  return  of  a  people 
for  whom  he  had  done  so  much, — whose  glory  and  happiness  he 
had  so  successfully  labored  to  promote, — and  still  more  ofl'ended, 
perhaps,  with  the  insults  of  his  profligate  son-in-law,  the  king  of 
Aragon  seriously  planned  revenge;  it  was  to  remarry  and  leave 


190  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1506 

to  the  issue  arising  from  it  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  he  had 
united  with  Aragon,  or,  perhaps  even  Aragon  itself.  Concealing 
his  long  enmity  towards  Charles,  he  solicited  the  hand  of  Ger- 
maine  de  Foix,  niece  of  that  monarch,  who  eagerly  granted  it. 
This  intelligence  was  a  thunderbolt  to  Philip,  who  now  consented 
to  negotiate;  and  it  was  accordingly  agreed,  by  the  agents  of  the 
two  princes  at  Salamanca  that  the  kingdom  should  be  governed 
by  Juana,  Ferdinand,  and  Philip, — each  possessing  equal  author- 
ity; and  that  all  public  instruments  should  bear  the  three  names. 
The  Austrian,  however,  had  no  intention  of  observing  the  treaty : 
early  in  1506  he  embarked  for  Spain  with  his  consort,  but  con- 
trary winds  forced  him  to  England,  where  he  was  detained,  during 
three  months,  by  the  ungenerous  policy  of  Henry  VII.  The  king 
of  France  had  refused  l.im  a  passage  through  that  kingdom  until 
he  had  come  to  a  better  understanding  with  the  regent : — in  fact, 
Charles  could  not,  as  a  close  ally  of  Ferdinand,  permit  an  expedi- 
tion through  his  states,  evidently  hostile  to  that  ally.  When 
Ferdinand  heard  of  the  archduke's  embarkation,  he  caused  prayers 
to  be  offered  up  for  a  prosperous  voyage,  and  ordered  a  fleet  to  be 
equipped  to  convoy  the  new  sovereigns  into  the  Peninsula.  He 
had  just  celebrated  his  marriage  with  the  Princess  Germaine  when 
his  daughter  and  the  archduke  landed  at  Corufia. 

No  sooner  was  Philip  landed  than  the  nobles  disaffected  to 
Ferdinand  hastened  to  meet  him,  and,  by  their  sinister  reports,  to 
increase  his  jealousy  of  the  regent.  To  dissipate  his  suspicions, 
Ferdinand  sent  the  Archbishop  Ximines,  his  steadfast  counselor, 
who  was  charged  with  the  appropriate  duty  of  restoring  concord 
between  the  two  princes.  But  the  arrogance  of  Philip,  who  was 
entirely  led  by  the  advice  of  his  Flemings  and  the  discontented 
Castilians,  caused  him  not  only  to  do  everything  which  he  knew 
would  mortify  his  father-in-law,  but  to  refuse  an  interview  fre- 
quently requested  by  Ferdinand.  From  the  levity — we  might 
add,  the  perfidy — with  which  he  annulled  the  treaty  of  Salamanca, 
and  openly  declared  his  resolution  to  expel  Ferdinand  from  Castile, 
the  latter,  though  still  disposed  to  peace,  saw  that  it  was  high  time 
for  him  to  prepare  for  tlie  worst.  He  ordered  troops  to  be  raised, 
both  to  vindicate  his  own  right  and  to  rescue  his  daughter  from, 
the  ignominious  restraint  in  which  she  was  kept  by  her  husband. 
Owing,  liowever,  to  tlie  artful  representations  of  the  disaffected 
barons,  tlic  party  of   Philip  increased  daily,   and   F'erdinand   was, 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE      191 

1506 

at  length,  compelled  to  resign  the  regency  into  the  hands  of  the 
archduke  alone,  Juana  being  by  both  considered  incompetent  to 
govern.  He  retained  the  grandmastership  and  administration  of 
the  three  military  orders,  with  the  other  legacies  of  Isabella,  and 
after  two  interviews  with  Philip  returned  to  his  hereditary 
dominions. 

Having  gained  the  object  of  his  ambition,  Phili'p  convoked 
the  Cortes  at  Valladolid,  in  the  hope  that  he  should  procure  their 
consent  to  the  removal  of  the  queen  from  all  affairs ;  in  other 
words,  to  her  perpetual  confinement,  on  the  ground  of  her  inca- 
pacity. The  opposition,  however,  which  he  there  encountered  made 
him  abandon  his  iniquitous  purpose.  All  that  the  states  would  do 
was  to  swear  allegiance  to  Juana  as  their  natural  sovereign,  to 
him  as  her  consort,  and  to  acknowledge  the  Archduke  Charles, 
their  son,  as  heir  to  the  crown.  Before  he  had  time  to  become  un- 
popular he  fell  suddenly  sick  at  Burgos,  and  died  in  five  months 
after  his  arrival  in  Spain,  and  three  from  the  commencement  of  his 
administration. 

Immediately  after  Philip's  death  the  Castilian  nobles  assem- 
bled to  consult  on  the  form  of  government.  As  the  queen  refused 
to  give  any  orders  on  the  subject  they  chose  a  council  of  seven 
from  among  themselves,  to  whom  they  provisionally  confided  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  Men  with  equal  authority  and  conflicting 
views  could  not  long  remain  in  harmony:  they  felt  that  their  own 
power  was  insecure,  and  each  was  anxious  to  look  out  for  some 
superior  whose  favor  he  might  obtain.  All  perceived  that,  until 
Prince  Cliarles  reached  his  majority,  there  must  be  a  regency; 
that  their  own  jealousies  could  not  confide  it  to  a  native,  and  that 
there  were  but  two  foreigners  to  whom  it  could  be  intrusted, — 
Ferdinand  and  the  Emperor  Maximilian,  father  of  the  deceased 
king.  Of  course,  the  reflecting  part  of  the  nation  were  in  favor  of 
the  experienced  Aragonese;  but  such  as  feared  his  resentment,  and, 
still  more,  those  who  knew  the  vigor  of  his  scepter  and  his  fru- 
gality, loudly  clamored  for  the  Austrian.  The  turbulent  conduct 
of  the  nobles,  who  began  to  renew  the  scenes  which  had  so  dis- 
graced the  reigns  of  Juan  II.  and  Enrique  IV. ;  who  ruthlessly 
trampled  under  foot  all  law  and  order,  and  purposed  to  wrap 
the  kingdom  in  flames,  increased  the  anxiety  and  hastened  the  ex- 
ertions of  every  friend  to  the  public  tranquillity.  The  illustrious 
Cisneros,     above     all,     one     of     the  temporary  regents,   sjxired 


192  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1507-1511 

neither  expostulation  nor  entreaties  to  ensure  the  recall  of 
Ferdinand.  That  prince  was  in  Italy  when  he  received  intelligence 
of  Philip's  death.  He  showed  no  great  haste  to  return;  his 
emissaries  and  friends  exerted  themselves  so  well  in  his  behalf  that 
his  resumption  of  the  regency  was  soon  acknowledged  to  be  the  only 
means  of  saving  a  kingdom  already  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  At  length 
in  July,  1507,  he  disembarked  at  Valencia,  whence  he  proceeded  to 
Saragossa,  where,  having  appointed  his  young  queen  regent  of  the 
kingdom,  he  went  into  Castile.  By  his  daughter  he  was  immediately 
invested  with  the  whole  power  of  government,  and  by  degrees  his 
authority  was  recognized  throughout  the  kingdom.  Before  him 
insurrection  quailed,  the  laws  resumed  their  empire,  and  prosperity 
revisited  the  people. 

The  second  administration  of  this  able  prince  was  signalized 
by  the  same  splendid  effects.  In  1509,  at  the  suggestion  of  Cardinal 
Cisneros,  he  proposed  an  expedition  against  Oran  on  the  African 
coast.  The  cardinal  not  only  defrayed  the  expense,  but  accom- 
panied it.  It  was  completely  successful :  Oran  was  stormed  and 
forced  to  receive  a  Christian  garrison.  The  following  year  Bugia, 
a  city  on  the  same  coast,  was  reduced;  Algiers,  Tunis,  Tremecen, 
and  other  places  consented  that  their  native  governors  should  be 
the  vassals  of  Ferdinand.  Another  expedition  reduced  Tripoli.  In 
151 1  he  himself  was  preparing  to  embark  with  a  formidable  arma- 
ment, to  pursue  his  conquests  in  that  country — conquests,  however, 
which  his  own  experience  proved  to  be  fleeting — when  he  was 
pressed  by  Pope  Julian  to  aid  the  church  against  the  schismatics 
under  the  protection  of  the  king  of  France  and  the  emperor.  As  he 
was  even  more  proud  of  his  title  of  Catholic  king  than  desirous  of 
glory,  he  dispatched  an  armed  force  to  aid  the  chief  of  the  church. 

But  this  war  led  to  one  memorable  result,  and  one  not  very 
glorious  to  Ferdinand.  Wishing  to  carry  hostilities  into  France, 
he  demanded  from  Jean  d'Albret,  king  of  Navarre,  permission  to 
march  his  troops  through  that  country.  The  Navarrese  refused, 
Init  at  tlie  same  time  professed  his  determination  in  no  way  to  aid 
llic  French  monarch,  and  to  remain  perfectly  neutral.  Scarcely, 
however,  liarl  he  given  this  answer  than  he  entered  into  an  alliance, 
(jffensive  and  rlcfcnsive,  with  the  French  king.  Resolving  to  attain 
his  end  by  [ditc  and  to  punish  the  duplicity  of  the  Navarrese,  Ferdi- 
nand asscnililcd  his  forces  at  Vittoria,  invaded  Navarre,  and  in  a 
sliorl  time  obtained  i)ossession  of  the  whole  kingdom,   the   royal 


ASTURIAS,     LEON     AND     CASTILE       193 

1509-1516 

family  taking  refuge  in  France.  This  new  conquest  he  annexed  to 
his  kingdom  of  Aragon,  and  successfully  defended  it  against  the 
invasion  of  the  French. 

Ferdinand  was  beyond  doubt  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  princes 
that  ever  swayed  the  scepter  of  Spain.  His  actions  will  best  bespeak 
his  character.  He  is  justly  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Spanish 
monarchy;  and  though,  during  the  latter  years  of  his  life,  he  wished 


to  undo  his  own  great  work,  let  those  bear  the  blame  who  thwarted 
his  most  salutary  designs,  who  disputed  his  legitimate  authority, 
and,  with  the  basest  ingratitude,  returned  rebellion  and  insult  for 
the  most  signal  benefits — for  a  life  worn  out  in  their  service.  His 
chief  faults  were  an  immeasurable  ambition  and  a  policy  rather 
tortuous  than  direct.  His  memory,  however,  is  held  in  great  rev- 
erence in  Spain.  Notwithstanding  his  faults,  and  the  hostility  of 
writers  who  array  his  character  and  actions  in  the  garb,  not  of  his- 
tory, but  of  prejudice  and  passion,  posterity  must  regard  him  as  the 
greatest  prince  of  his  age. 


Chapter  X 

KINGDOM  OF  NAVARRE.      CIRCA  885-1512 

NO  historical  subject  is  wrapped  in  greater  obscurity  than 
the  origin  and  early  history  of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre. 
Whether  during  a  great  portion  of  the  eighth  and  ninth 
centuries  the  country  was  independent  or  tributary,  and  if  depend- 
ent, whether  it  obeyed  the  Franks,  the  Asturians,  or  the  Arabs,  or 
.successively  all  three,  are  speculations  which  have  long  exercised 
the  pens  of  the  Peninsular  writers.  The  natives,  as  might  naturally 
be  expected,  stoutly  contend  for  their  ancient  freedom,  and  do  not 
scruple  to  assert  that  the  foundation  of  their  kingdom  is  coeval 
with  that  of  the  Asturian  state  by  Pelayo.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Castilians  maintain  that  until  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury this  mountainous  region  was  subject,  with  a  slight  interrup- 
tion, to  the  successors  of  that  prince;  while  the  French,  and  such 
as  follow  their  authorities,  affirm  that  a  full  century  after  the  time 
of  Charlemagne,  Navarre,  as  well  as  Catalonia,  owed  the  para- 
mount sway  of  the  Carlovingian  sovereigns. 

According  to  the  first  of  these  three  hypotheses,  the  first  king 
of  Navarre  was  Garcia  Ximenes,  the  contemporary  of  Pelayo. 
The  occasion  of  his  election  is  stated  to  have  been  singular.  A 
number  of  the  natives,  among  whom  were  two  hundred  persons  of 
distinction,  attended  the  last  obsequies  of  a  holy  hermit.  The 
degraded  state  of  the  surrounding  countr\% — degraded  through  its 
subjection  to  the  insolent  misbelievers, — the  indignities  they  were 
made  continually  to  endure,  the  tale  of  new  wrongs,  and  the  appre- 
hension of  greater,  roused  their  patriotism,  and  caused  them  to  elect 
on  the  very  spot  a  ruler  who  should  lead  them  against  the  abhorred 
strangers.  The  choice  fell  on  Garcia  Ximenes,  one  of  the  most 
valiant  as  well  as  powerful  of  the  native  lords.  His  domains  were, 
at  first,  very  circumscribed,  comprising  only  the  mountains  of 
v^obrarvc  and  a  few  neighboring  places;  but  by  his  valor  he  re- 
cci\cre(l  a  considerable  territory  from  the  Arabs.  He  was  succeeded, 
rcntniuc  tlie  advocates  of  this  hypothesis — for  it  is  no  better, — ■ 

194. 


NAVARRE  195 

905 

by  several  sovereigns,  who  swayed  the  scepter  with  the  usual  alter- 
nations of  glory  and  failure,  until  905,  when  the  darkness  involving 
the  history  of  this  kingdom  begins  to  be  dissipated. 

That  the  Arabs  ever  possessed  Navarre  is  at  least  doubtful.  A 
passage  in  Sebastian's  "  Chronicles  "  has  been  adduced  to  show  that 
at  all  times  Alava,  Biscay,  etc.,  were  possessed  by  the  native  inhab- 
itants :  Rodrigo  of  Toledo  has  a  much  stronger  one  to  the  same 
purport. 

From  one  passage  of  Sebastian  in  which  he  speaks  of  the 
expedition  of  Alfonso  III.  to  punish  the  revolted  Alavese,  we  may 
infer,  not  only  that  no  monarchy  was  yet  established,  but  that  the 
country,  or  at  least  a  portion  of  it,  was  subject  to  the  Asturian 
kings. 

Admitting,  then,  that  Garcia  the  father  filled  the  royal  dignity, 
we  must  also  admit  that  he  is  the  first  king  of  Navarre.  There  is 
nothing  in  authors  nearest  to  the  period  that  affords  us  the  slightest 
ground  for  assuming  that  the  dignity  existed  there  prior  to  the  lat- 
ter half  of  the  ninth  century.  They,  indeed,  who  follow  the  Arch- 
bishop Rodrigo,  and  the  vast  store  of  monastic  charters — the 
only  authorities  for  the  pretended  antiquity  of  this  monarchy — may 
easily  find  room  for  six  or  eight  successive  kings  before  the  time 
of  Garcia.  But  these  kings  are  deseiwedly  rejected  by  the  best 
historians  of  Spain.  Thus  the  father  of  this  royal  line,  the 
count  of  Bigorre,  had  two  names,  Sancho  Ihigo.  Agreeably  to 
the  Spanish  system  of  patronymic  derivation,  Garcia  his  son  was 
sometimes  called  Garcia  Sanchez,  at  others  Garcia  Iniguez :  by  the 
advocates  of  Navarrese  antiquities  this  double  name  is  easily  made 
to  represent  two  distinct  sovereigns.  In  many  other  cases,  suIj- 
scquent  to  the  reign  of  Garcia,  we  find  the  same  confusion.  Thus, 
anyone  who  minutely  enters  into  an  examination  of  the  subject 
will  soon  be  con\'inced  that  Garcia  el  Tembloso  and  Sanclio  el 
Mayor  are  identical  with  Garcia  Sanchez  and  Sancho  Garces, 
though  by  most  historians  these  two  kings  have  been  invariably 
multiplied  into  four.  A  line  of  rulers  so  numerous,  their  names  so 
carefully  recorded,  were  reasonably  admitted  as  demonstration  of 
a  very  respectable  antiquity. 

As,  then,  tliere  appears  no  foundation  for  the  ancient  inde- 
pendence of  Navarre,  on  what  power  was  slie  dependent — on  the 
Asturians  or  the  T^ranks? 

The  chroniclers  who  lived  nearest  to  this  period,  the  monk  of 


196  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

778 

Albekla  and  Bishop  Sampiro,  are  so  meager  in  their  accounts  that 
they  afford  us  no  information  on  the  subject  beyond  incidental  ob- 
scure hints,  wliich  may  be  forced  to  mean  anything  or  nothing,  ac- 
conhng  to  the  predilection  of  the  citer.  One,  however,  who  has  no 
predilections  to  gratify  may  observe  that  from  the  general  tendency 
of  tiie  hints,  an  impression, — he  would  not  be  justified  in  using  a 
stronger  term, — rests  on  his  mind  that  in  the  reign  of  Alfonso  el 
Cast(^,  at  least,  perhaps  in  that  of  Alfonso  I.,  the  country  was 
dependent  on  the  Asturias.  If,  as  Sebastian  of  Salamanca  inti- 
mates (and  what  better  authority  can  be  found?),  the  Arabs  had 
not  settled  in  Navarre  prior  to  his  days,  we  may  infer  that  it  was 
previously  governed  by  local  counts,  vassals  of  Pelayo  himself,  or  at 
least  of  his  immediate  successors.  But  leaving  these  speculations, 
it  seems  undoubted  that  in  just  dread  of  the  Mohammedan  domi- 
nation the  inhabitants  of  tliese  regions,  as  well  as  those  of  Cata- 
lonia, applied  for  aid  to  the  renowned  emperor  of  the  Franks,  and 
that  he,  in  consequence,  in  778,  poured  his  legions  into  Navarre 
and  seized  Pamplona.  There  is,  however,  reason  enough  for  infer- 
ring that  this  supremacy  generally  rested  with  the  Carlovingian 
dynasty.  In  806,  on  the  occasion  of  a  revolt, — whether  through 
the  arts  of  Alfonso  el  Casto  or  through  a  desire  for  independence, 
is  doubtful, — Pepin  passed  the  Pyrenees  with  a  considerable  force, 
received  the  submission  of  the  people,  and  divided  the  country 
into  new  governments,  both  for  its  better  defense  against  foreign 
aggression  and  as  the  means  of  more  effectually  quelling  domestic 
commotions.  Thus  things  remained  until  the  time  of  Alfonso  III., 
who,  for  the  reasons  stated  on  a  former  occasion,  endeavored  to 
secure  peace  both  with  Navarre  and  France  by  marrying  a  princess 
related  to  both  Sancho  Inigo,  count  of  Bigorre,  and  to  the  Frank 
sovereign,  and  by  consenting  that  the  province  should  be  held  as 
an  immovable  fief  by  that  count.  This  Sancho  Inigo,  besides  his 
lordship  of  Bigorre,  for  which  he  was  the  vassal  of  the  French 
king,  liad  domains  in  Navarre,  and  is  believed,  on  apparently  good 
f(nin(lation,  to  have  been  of  Spanish  descent.  He  is  said,  however, 
not  to  lia\c  been  the  first  count  of  Navarre;  that  his  brother  Aznar 
held  tlic  ncf  l)cforc  1iim,  nominally  dependent  on  King  Pepin,  but 
successfully  laying  the  foundation  of  Navarrese  independence.*    But 

1  riure  is,  perhaps,  reason  to  doubt  wlictlier  Aznar  was  ever  in  Spanish 
VaM-ony,  witrtlur  liis  (lef  was  not  wli<il!y  confined  to  the  conntry  north  of  the 
Pyrenees.     '1  liere   is  nothing  Init   inextrical)le  confusion   throughout  this  period. 


NAVARRE  197 

883-907 

whichever  of  the  princes  was  acknowledged  for  the  time  the  lord 
paramount  of  the  province,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  both 
governor  and  people  were  averse  to  the  sway  of  either;  both  had 
long  aspired  to  independence,  and  that  independence  was  at  hand. 
The  son  of  this  Sancho  Ifiigo  was  Garcia,  father  of  Sancho  Garces, 
and  the  first  king  of  Navarre ;  the  first,  at  least,  whom  for  reasons 
before  given,  historic  criticism  can  admit. 

The  precise  period  when  Garcia  I.  (Sanchez  Iniguez)  began 
to  reign  is  impossible  to  be  determined.  Considering,  however,  the 
deep  silence  of  the  contemporary  monk  of  Albelda,  who  concludes 
his  history  in  883,  as  to  the  foundation  of  the  monarchy,  that 
event  must  be  referred  to  a  period  subsequent.  All  that  we  know 
by  inference  is,  that  in  891,  or  in  the  following  year,  he  was  killed 
in  battle  with  the  Arabs,  who  invaded  his  dominions,  and  that  he 
left  an  infant,  Sancho. 

Sancho  I.  (Garces  Abaraca)  was  fortunate  enough  to  extend 
the  dominions  left  him  by  his  two  predecessors,  and  to  wield  their 
scepter  with  greater  glory  than  either.  In  907  he  led  an  army  into 
Gascony — for  what  purpose  does  not  clearly  appear — and  during 
his  absence  the  city  of  Pamplona  was  invested  by  the  Arabs.  The 
inhabitants,  being  unprepared  for  a  siege,  were  in  the  deepest  con- 
sternation :  they  dispatched  messengers  to  acquaint  their  king 
with  their  critical  situation.  Sancho  was  naturally  solicitous  to 
return  and  save  his  capital ;  but  he  had  scarcely  issued  orders  to 
that  effect,  when  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  blocked  up  the  passes  of  the 
Pyrenees,  and  in  the  estimation  of  all  men  rendered  that  return 
impossible.  Yet  he  was  undismayed ;  he  resolved  to  attempt  the 
passage,  though  his  followers  loudly  exclaimed  that  thus  "  to  com- 
bat nature  "  was  the  very  height  of  rashness.  At  length,  after  a 
rapid  nocturnal  march,  they  appeared  at  daybreak  before  the  city, 
which  still  held  out,  but  the  surrender  of  which  was  hourly  ex- 
pected by  the  assailants.  The  joy  of  the  besieged  on  the  arrival 
of  their  deliverers  was  boundless.  While  the  aged,  the  women, 
and  children  watched  the  furious  attack  of  their  king  on  the  sur- 
prised ranks  of  the  misbelievers,  most  of  whom  were  half  dead 
by  the  severity  of  the  weather,  all  capable  of  bearing  arms  left  the 
place  to  assist  their  heroic  countrymen.  The  carnage  of  the  Arabs 
was  frightful :  such  as  escaped  into  the  mountains  were  known 
by  their  f()otsteps,  were  pursued,  and  put  to  death  ;  few  of  the 
vanquished  survived  that  day. 


198  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

914-925 

During  several  succeeding  years  Sancho  nobly  followed  up 
this  splendid  success.  He  reduced  some  important  fortresses  on 
lx)th  banks  of  the  Ebro,  and  recovered  Rioja:  in  914  he  conquered 
the  country  from  Tudela  to  Najera:  the  following  year  he  took 
Tarragona  and  Agreda,  and  seized  on  the  mountainous  district 
sin-rounding  the  sources  of  the  Duero.  Many  of  his  conquests  he 
fortified  against  the  threatened  irruptions  of  the  Arabs:  among 
these  was  Pamplona,  the  works  of  which  he  carefully  strengthened. 
His  prudent  foresight  was  justified  by  the  sequel.  In  920,  whether 
til  rough  impaired  health  or  devotion  or  both,  he  retired  to  the 
monastery  of  San  Salvador  de  Leyre,  leaving  to  his  son,  whom  he 
had  previously  placed  over  Rioja,  the  government  of  his  states. 
The  following  year  Abderahman  HI.,  at  the  instance  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans of  Saragossa,  poured  a  formidable  army  into  Rioja, 
and  recovered  several  of  the  fortified  places.  The  infante  Sancho 
consequently  prepared  for  defense,  and  obtained  from  Ordono  H., 
king  of  Leon,  a  powerful  aid,  which  that  king  headed  in  person. 
The  hostile  armies  met  at  Val-de-Junquera,  near  Salinas  de  Oro. 
The  result  was  fatal  to  the  Christians,  who  were  signally  routed, 
two  of  their  bishops  and  many  princes  remaining  in  the  power  of 
the  misbelievers.  Ordono  returned  to  Leon, — doubtless  to  defend 
his  own  dominions, — while  the  infante  threw  himself  within  the 
walls  of  Pamplona.  But  in  the  mountain  defiles  one  division  of 
the  Mohammedan  army  was  surprised  by  the  troops  of  the  king,  and 
Sancho  also  marched  against  the  other  division  that  had  passed 
the  Pyrenees  by  another  route,  and  completely  cut  it  to  pieces.  No 
Alohammedan  remained  in  the  wdiole  kingdom  north  of  the  Ebro, 
for  the  fortresses  which  Abderahman's  general  had  reduced  were 
recovered  with  facility.  The  following  year,  wliile  Sancho  was 
suffering  under  severe  illness,  his  son  recovered  Rioja.  In  the 
reduction  of  the  two  strongest  fortresses  in  that  province,  Najera 
and  Viguera,  the  infante  was  aided  by  his  cousin  of  Leon,  and 
the  good  understanding  between  the  two  crowns  was  increased 
by  the  marriage  of  Ordono  with  Dona  Sancha,  princess  of 
A'.'ivarre. 

Don  Sancho  did  not  long  survive  this  last  success  of  his  arms. 
He  reigned  say  tb.e  chroniclers,  nearly  twenty  years,  so  that  his 
death  must  have  taken  place  about  925.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
valiant  princes  of  his  age,  and  his  numerous  religious  foundations 
prove  him  to  liave  been  one  of  the  most  devout.      The    salutary 


NAVARRE  199 

925-1026 

severity  with  which  he  administered  justice,  and  the  vigor  with 
which  he  extirpated  the  robbers  who  infested  his  dominions,  were 
no  less  useful  to  his  people  than  his  warlike  deeds. 

Garcia  11.  (Sanchez)  surnamed  El  Temhloso,  or  the  Trem- 
bler, from  the  involuntary  dread  which  he  experienced  at  the  com- 
mencement of  any  battle, — a  dread,  however,  which  speedily 
yielded  to  his  latent  courage, — ascended  the  throne  in  925.  Of 
this  prince  little  is  known,  and  that  little  has  often  been  confounded 
with  the  actions  of  his  successors.  In  951,  on  occasion  of  the  dis- 
pute between  Ordono  III.  of  Leon  and  Sancho,  brother  of  that 
prince,  he,  with  his  brother-in-law,  Fernan  Gonsalez,  count  of 
Castile,  espoused  the  cause  of  the  rebel ;  but  legitimacy  triumphed, 
and  Sancho  sought  refuge  for  a  time  in  Navarre.  In  956  he  again 
received  Sancho,  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  court  of  Leon, 
and  afterwards  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Abderahman  to  re- 
store the  exile  to  the  throne.  On  this  occasion  he  marched  an  army 
into  Castile  to  overawe  the  movements  of  the  rebellious  Fernan 
Gonsalez,  whom  he  defeated  and  took  prisoner,  but  whom  he 
afterwards  released  in  consideration  of  the  affinity  between  them, 
Garcia  died  in  970. 

Sancho  II.,  surnamed  El  Mayor,  according  to  Rodrigo  was 
but  five  years  old  when  he  ascended  the  throne.  If  this  be  true,  he 
was  probably  the  grandson,  not  the  son,  of  the  deceased  king;  and 
as  the  realm  would  necessarily  be  governed  by  a  regent,  that  regent 
may  have  Ijeen  ranked  among  the  lawful  sovereigns  of  the  country. 
However  this  be,  it  is  certain,  that  nothing  can  exceed  the  obscurity 
which  covers  the  reigns  of  this  period. 

Sancho  el  ]\Iayor  was  the  most  powerful  prince  of  his  age  and 
country.  Besides  Navarre  and  Sobrarve,  he  held  the  lordship  of 
Aragon  (then  however  confined  within  narrow  limits,  as  Sara- 
gossa  and  most  of  the  province  were  subject  to  the  Moham- 
medans.) and  in  1026  in  right  of  his  wife,  Muna  Elvira,  princess 
of  Castile,  he  became  king  of  that  country.  The  marriage  of  his 
son  Ferdinand  to  the  heiress  of  Leon  gave  him  uncontrolled  in- 
fluence in  the  affairs  of  that  kingdom, — an  influence  which  he  was 
not  slow  to  vindicate  even  by  force  of  arms.  By  his  conquests,  too, 
he  considerably  extended  his  dominions,  especially  on  the  Pyrenean 
frontier:  among  these  was  the  lordship  of  Ribagorza,  which  had 
generally  been  dependent  on  the  French  crown,  and  to  which  indeed 
he  had  some  claim  in  virtue  of  his  consanguinity  with  a  house  that 


200  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1053-1054 

had  loiii^  jrivcn  governors  to  that  province.  He  was  thus,  at  the 
period  of  his  death  in  1035,  virtually  master  of  all  Christian  Spain 
except  Catalonia. 

By  most  historians  of  the  Peninsula  Sancho  has  been  blamed 
for  not  laying-  the  foundation  of  one  Christian  monarchy,  in  other 
words,  for  dividing  his  dominions  among  his  four  sons.  In  leaving 
Navarre  and  Biscay  to  his  eldest  son  Garcia,  Castile  to  Fernando, 
Ribagorza  to  Gonsalo,  and  Aragon  to  Ramiro,  he  certainly  com- 
mitted an  act  of  great  impolicy;  but  it  may  be  doubted,  whether,  if 
even  he  had  left  them  united  under  the  scepter  of  the  eldest,  the 
integrity  of  the  whole  would  have  been  long  preserved. 

Garcia  III.,  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  was  absent  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome.  Ramiro  of  Aragon,  who  was  discontented 
with  the  boundaries  assigned  him,  thought  this  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity for  removing  them  to  a  greater  distance :  he  invaded  Na- 
varre, the  greater  part  of  which  he  occupied  with  facility.  Before 
the  fortress  of  Tafalla,  however,  which  he  invested,  he  was  de- 
tained until  the  arrival  of  the  royal  pilgrim,  who  not  only  expelled 
him  from  his  conquests,  but  pursued  him  into  his  own  dominions. 
But  Garcia  was  either  averse  to  profit  by  the  advantage  thus  ac- 
quired or  he  preferred  lending  his  immediate  aid  to  his  brother 
Ferdinand  of  Castile,  whose  dominions  were  then  invaded  by 
Bermudo  of  Leon.  The  triumph  of  Ferdinand,  who  by  the 
death  of  the  Leonnese  king  inherited  that  crown,  has  been 
related. 

But  this  service  either  made  no  impression  on  the  heart  of 
Ferdinand  or  Garcia's  own  ambition  led  to  the  hostilities  which 
followed.  The  maneuvers  which  each  adopted  to  gain  possession 
of  the  other, — maneuvers  disgraceful  alike  to  their  fraternal  and 
knightly  characters, — and  the  death  of  Garcia,  in  1054,  at  the  bat- 
tle of  Atapuerca,  are  to  be  found  in  another  place.  This  latter 
l^rince  left  few  to  regret  his  loss,  except  the  monks,  whose  monas- 
teries he  had  enriched.  He  made  some  conquests  from  the  Mo- 
hammedans, among  which  was  Calahorra  (1045),  but  he  lost 
Rioja,  which  was  annexed  to  Castile,  and  which,  though  sometimes 
rcoccupied  in  the  subsequent  reigns  by  the  Xavarrese  princes,  was 
always  recovered  by  their  powerful  neighbors.  The  Ebro  again 
became  the  boundary  of  the  two  kingdoms. 

vSancho  TTl.,  eldest  son  of  Garcia,  was  quietly  permitted  by 
llie  vicl<jr  I'YM-dinand  to  be  proclaimed  in  the  camp.     Nor,  whatever 


NAVARRE  201 

1076-1134 

may  be  stated  by  the  writers  of  Navarre  and  Aragon,  from  the 
monk  of  San  Juan  de  la  Pena  downwards,  was  he  ever  disturbed 
in  his  possessions  by  the  king  of  Leon  and  Castile.  As  little  proof 
is  there,  that  Sancho,  the  successor  of  Ferdinand,  molested  his 
cousin  of  Navarre.  It  is  allowed  that  Alfonso,  the  successor  of 
Sancho,  afterwards  the  famous  conqueror  of  Toledo,  was  too  much 
occupied  in  fighting  the  Moors  to  dream  of  incommoding  his 
Christian  relatives.  Hence  the  reign  of  Sancho  III.  appears  to 
have  been  passed  in  peace.  But  if  he  had  no  enemies  from  without, 
unfortunately  he  had  them  within  his  own  kingdom,  and  in  his 
own  family.  In  1076  his  brother  Don  Ramon  and  his  sister 
Dofia  Ermesinda  conspired  against  his  life.  While  eagerly  watch- 
ing a  stag  hunt  they  stabbed  him  in  the  back  and  precipitated 
him  from  a  high  crag.  His  body  was  dashed  to  pieces  by  the  fall. 
This  tragical  deed  the  people  at  length  rose  to  avenge,  but  the 
assassins  had  escaped  to  the  court  of  the  Moorish  king  of 
Saragossa. 

Ramon  derived  no  advantage  from  this  deed  of  blood :  the 
kingdom  refused  to  be  ruled  by  a  fratricide,  whom  it  indignantly 
expelled.  The  choice  of  a  successor  promised  to  be  attended  with 
some  difficulty.  While  the  inhabitants  of  Biscay  and  Rioja,  at  the 
instance  of  Prince  Ramiro,  another  brother  of  Sancho,  declared 
for  Alfonso  of  Leon  and  Castile,  those  of  Navarre  proper  were 
generally  in  favor  of  Sancho  Ramirez,  second  king  of  Aragon. 
The  former  led  an  army  into  Rioja,  was  proclaimed  at  Calahorra 
and  Najera,  and  from  that  moment  the  sovereignty  of  the  country 
between  those  important  places  remained  in  the  crown  of  Castile. 
Sancho  was  no  less  active :  with  a  considerable  force  he  entered 
Navarre    and  was  proclaimed  at  Pamplona. 

As  the  three  next  sovereigns  of  Navarre,  Sancho  IV.,  who 
reigned  from  1076  to  1094,  Pedro  I.,  from  1094  to  1105,  and 
Alfonso  I.,  from  1105  to  1134,  were  all  kings  of  Aragon,  their 
actions  must  be  related  in  the  history  of  that  country.  The  last 
named  prince,  dying  without  issue,  made  a  singular  will,  by  which 
he  bequeatlied  his  dominions  to  the  knights  of  St.  John  and  of  the 
Temple,  and  passed  a  heavy  denunciation  on  any  one  of  his  barons 
who  should  seek  to  set  aside  his  last  dispositions.  But  no  sooner 
was  he  laid  at  rest  than  his  menace  was  disregarded,  and  as  the 
Navarrese  and  Aragonese  would  not  agree  in  the  choice  of  a 
common  sovereign,  the  former  raised  Garcia  Ramirez,  a  scion  of 


202  STAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1134-1150 

their  royal  house,  to  the  vacant  dignity,  while  the  latter  threw 
their  eyes  on  Ramiro,  brother  of  Alfonso,  who,  though  a  monk, 
was  forced  from  the  cloister  to  the  palace. 

Garcia  IV.  no  sooner  ascended  the  throne  than  he  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  ambition  or  policy  of  Ramiro,  who  aspired  to  the 
reunion  of  the  two  kingdoms.  The  animosity  of  the  two  princes 
was  for  a  moment  prevented  from  openly  breaking  out  by  the  ap- 
proach,— whether  friendly  or  hostile  has  been  much  disputed, — of 
Alfonso  VII.  of  Leon  and  Castile,  surnamed  the  Emperor,  who 
made  both  tremble  for  their  respective  dignities.  On  the  depart- 
ure of  the  emperor,  who  had  received  the  homage  both  of  Garcia 
and  Ramiro,  they  resumed  their  hostile  attitude,  but  their  re- 
spective subjects  forced  them  to  be  reconciled.  Each  was  to  re- 
main master  of  his  present  possessions,  but  Garcia  was  to  consider 
himself  a  feudatory  of  the  Aragonese. 

Scarcely  was  this  reconciliation  effected  when  Garcia  leagued 
himself  with  Alfonso,  prince  of  Portugal,  against  the  emperor, 
whose  ambition  began  to  fill  both  with  apprehension :  the  former 
aimed  at  the  recovery  of  Rioja,  the  latter  at  an  independent  sov- 
ereignty. While  the  Portuguese  prince  invaded  Galicia,  wdiere  his 
generals  obtained  some  partial  success,  Alfonso  made  an  irruption 
into  Navarre,  which  he  laid  waste  and  did  not  leave  until  Garcia 
acknowledged  his  supremacy  and  sued  for  peace.  In  1 140,  how- 
ever, the  latter  again  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  Portuguese 
king,  and  for  the  same  reason — jealousy  of  the  emperor's  power. 
Again  was  Navarre  invaded ;  while  the  king,  confiding  in  the 
fortifications  of  Pamplona,  carried  the  war  into  the  territories  of 
Aragon,  against  Raymundo,  count  of  Barcelona,  the  ally  of  Al- 
fonso, and,  in  virtue  of  a  marriage  with  the  daughter  of  Ramiro, 
actual  sovereign  of  Aragon.  Though  he  triumphed  over  Ray- 
mundo, from  whom  he  took  abundance  of  spoil,  that  spoil  was 
scarcely  divided  among  his  followers,  when  the  active  emperor 
reached  the  field,  and  tlic  Navarcsse  fled  without  striking  a  blow, 
or  carrying  away  any  portion  of  their  plunder.  Again,  through  the 
instrunientalily  of  the  prelates  and  nobles  was  peace  made  between 
tlicm, — tlie  emperor  being  anxious  to  fall  on  the  Mohammedans, — 
and  coniirnud  by  the  marriage  of  Garcia  with  a  natural  daughter 
of  Alfonso.  lUit  d.-ircia  and  Raynnmdo  were  ne\'er  on  good  terms, 
and  it  rctjiiircd  all  the  influence  of  their  common  friend  to  prevent 
them  from  inflicting  hostilities  on  each  other.     By  engaging  them 


NAVARRE  203 

1150-1191 

in  the  same  cause, — war  with  the  Moors, — he  turned  their  warhke 
incHnations  to  the  common  good  of  Christendom, 

Garcia  died  in  1150 — some  authors  say  through  the  fall  of 
his  horse.  We  only  know  with  certainty  that  his  death  was 
sudden.  Sancho  V.,  son  of  the  deceased  king,  was  no  less  subject 
than  his  father  to  the  hostilities  of  the  prince  of  Aragon,  and  no  less 
eager  to  return  them.  But  the  emperor,  though  war  was  frequently 
and  loudly  proclaimed  by  both  parties,  and  though  some  indecisive 
irruptions  into  the  Navarrese  territory  followed,  continued  to  ex- 
ert his  beneficial  influence  for  the  restoration,  if  not  of  harmony,  at 
least  of  outward  tranquillity.  Soon  after  his  death,  which  hap- 
pened in  1 1 57,  Don  Raymundo,  as  usual,  commenced  hostilities, 
but,  as  usual  also,  without  result,  since  both  kings,  terrified  at  the 
inroads  of  the  Almohades,  began  to  perceive  the  necessity  of  peace, 
unless  both  of  them  were  to  fall  a  sacrifice  to  these  formidable 
Africans..  But  though  Sancho  had  married  a  daughter  of  Alfonso, 
he  was  not  always  disposed  to  remain  on  good  terms  with  that 
emperor's  successor  in  Castile,  who  bore  the  same  name  as  him- 
self. Towards  the  end  of  that  monarch's  short  reign  he  made  an 
irruption  into  Rioja,  but  meeting  with  a  vigorous  repulse,  he 
retired  to  his  own  dominions.  During  the  minority  of  Alfonso 
IX.,  knowing  how  much  Castile  was  weakened  by  civil  dissensions, 
he  again  penetrated  into  that  province,  where  his  arms,  meeting 
with  no  serious  opposition,  were  successful :  the  following  year  it 
was  recovered.  The  two  following  years  witnessed  tlie  same  ob- 
scure and  indecisive  operations.  In  11 76  the  kings  of  Castile  and 
Navarre  agreed  to  refer  their  differences,  vvliich  concerned  the 
restitution  of  some  Castilian  fortresses  seized  during  the  minority 
of  the  former  prince,  to  Henry  Plantagenet,  king  of  England.  The 
English  monarch  could  entertain  no  unfavorable  sentiments 
towards  the  father-in-law  of  liis  son;  yet  he  condemned  him  to 
surrender  five  fortresses,  in  consideration,  however,  of  a  consid- 
erable sum  of  money,  and  of  two  or  three  small  fortified  places, 
or  rather  castles,  in  return,  winch  rightly  belonged  to  Sancho.  It 
does  not  appear  that  the  award  was  put  into  force,  though  in 
1 179  the  two  kings  agreed  to  a  peace  on  conditions  not  much 
unlike  those  proposed  by  Henry. 

In  1 191  Sancho  conferred  his  daughter,  the  Princess  Bereii- 
garia,  on  Richard  I.  of  England,  who  hiu\  succeeded  his  father. 
As  tlie  Plantagenet  had  already  departed   for  the  Holy  Land,  i\\2 


204  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1191-1234 

infanta  was  dispatclied  to  the  Isle  of  Cyprus,  where  she  was  re- 
ceived by  her  affianced  husband,  and  where  the  marriage  ceremony 
was  performed.  By  favor  of  this  marriage,  as  well  as  by  a  pre- 
ceding one  which  had  been  contracted  between  another  princess 
of  Navarre  with  an  elder  brother  of  Richard,  Sancho  hoped  to 
have  a  powerful  and  near  ally, — the  English  possessions  in  France 
then  extended  almost  to  the  Pyrenees, — to  aid  him  whenever  he 
should  be  in  danger  of  becoming  a  prey  to  his  neighbors.  This 
king  did  not  long  survive  the  marriage  of  his  daughter.  He  died 
in  1 194. 

Sancho  VI.  had  but  just  seized  the  reins  of  government  when 
he  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the  kings  of  Castile  and  Leon 
against  the  Moors,  who  were  then  ravaging  Andalusia.  The  im- 
petuosity of  the  Castilian,  which  impelled  him  to  risk  an  action 
before  the  arrival  of  his  allies,  and  his  consequent  defeat  near 
Alarcos,  have  been  already  related.  His  ill-humor  with  his  allies, 
who  had  advanced  to  Toledo,  led  to  some  hostilities  between  the 
three,  even  though  the  conquering  Aben  Yussef  was  reducing  sev- 
eral of  the  Christian  fortresses.  After  the  marriage,  however,  of 
Dona  Berengaria,  infanta  of  Castile,  with  the  king  of  Leon,  those 
two  princes  were  at  liberty  to  unite  in  defense  of  their  country 
and  religion.  But  Sancho,  for  a  time,  stood  aloof  from  the  con- 
federacy :  in  dread  of  Yacub  ben  Yussuf 's  power,  or  rather  through 
jealousy  of  his  two  neighbors,  he  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the 
misbeliever,  and  even  sought  an  interview  with  their  emperor.  If 
he  was  wrong-headed  and  obstinate  in  his  errors  or  even  crimes, 
he  was  a  valiant  soldier;  and  his  conduct  at  the  great  battle  of  the 
Navas  de  Tolosa  partly  redeems  him  from  the  deep  stain  he  had 
contracted  by  his  humiliating  negotiations  with  Yacub.  But  he 
was  deservedly  punished,  for  during  his  absence  in  Africa  Biscay, 
Alava,  and  Guipiscoa,  which  Sancho  el  Mayor  had  joined  to  the 
crown  of  Navarre,  were  reduced  by  Alfonso  of  Leon. 

With  Don  Sancho,  who  died  in  1234,  ended  the  male  line  of 
the  house  of  Sancho  Inigo,  founder  of  the  sovereignty.  The  ac- 
cidental death  of  his  son,  which  several  years  preceded  his  own, 
caused  him  to  nominate  as  his  successor  King  Jayme  I.  of  Ara- 
gon.  From  liis  valor  he  was  surnamed  the  Brave,  but  this  appears 
to  be  tlic  only  title  he  possessed  to  the  respect  of  posterity. 

On  the  death  of  Sancho  the  Navarrcse  were  perplexed  about 
tlie  choice  of  a  successf)r.     On  tlie  one  hand,  they  had  done  liomage 


NAVARRE  205 

1234-1239 

to  Jayme  of  Aragon,  as  their  future  king;  on  the  other,  they  were 
unwilHng  to  sacrifice  their  national  existence  by  a  union  with  the 
neighboring  kingdom.  In  this  emergency  they  elected  Thibault,^ 
count  of  Champagne,  son  of  the  infanta  Sancha,  sister  of  the  late 
king. 

Of  Thibault  I.  we  know  little  beyond  his  expedition  to  Pales- 
tine. In  the  second  year  of  his  reign  he  assumed  the  cross,  resolved, 
like  so  many  other  princes  of  his  age,  to  assist  in  recovering  the 
holy  sepulcher  from  infidel  hands.  Accordingly,  in  1238,  he 
passed  over  into  France  to  join  the  dukes  of  Bretagne  and  Bur- 
gundy, the  counts  of  Bar,  Vcndome,  Montfort,  and  other  cru- 
saders. As  the  French  king  could  not  depart  with  them,  they 
proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a  generalissimo :  it  fell  on  Thibault, 
both  on  account  of  his  superior  dignity  to  the  rest  and  of  his 
martial  character.  The  following  year  the  French  princes  hastened 
into  Provence,  for  the  purpose  of  embarkation ;  but  as  there  was 
not  a  sufficient  number  of  vessels  to  convey  so  great  an  armament, 
it  was  agreed  that  while  a  portion  only  proceeded  by  sea  the  rest 
should  travel  by  land,  by  way  of  Hungary,  Thrace,  and  Asia 
Minor.  The  disasters  which  befell  the  latter,  of  whom  two-thirds 
perished  through  fatigue,  hunger,  pestilence,  or  intemperance,  are 
well  known.  Fortunately  for  the  Navarrese  king,  he  was  one  of 
those  who  embarked  at  Marseilles  and  safely  reached  Syria.  But 
he  had  little  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on  the  success  of  the 
expedition:  he  found  nothing  but  jealousy  or  open  opposition 
among  the  crusaders.  Thibault  assembled  the  chiefs  of  his  party, 
and  it  was  determined  that  siege  should  be  laid  to  Gaza.  But  the 
rashness  or  avarice  of  the  duke  of  Bretagne  proved  fatal  to  their 
views,  for  the  caliph  of  Egypt,  who  had  spies  everywhere,  being 
acquainted  with  the  design,  silently  threw  a  strong  body  of  troops 
into  the  fortress  or  placed  them  on  t!ie  neighboring  heights.  Un- 
suspicious of  the  snare  laid  for  them,  the  holy  warriors  marched 
all  night  and  at  break  of  day  arrived  before  Gaza.  Their  conster- 
natitm  at  finding  the  eminences  occupied  was  great ;  but,  though 
fatigued  with  their  arduous  march,  and  so  much  inferior  in  num- 
ber, they  prepared  to  resist  the  meditated  attack  of  the  misbelievers. 

2  As  Thibault  was  a  French  prince,  we  prefer  the  orthography  of  this  nation 
to  that  of  the  Spaniards,  wlio  distort  the  name  into  Tcohaldo.  Nor  would  we 
substitute  the  Enjj;lish  Tlicohald.  As  the  rulers  of  Navarre  were  mostly  French 
from  the  time  of  this  prince,  we  shall  in  future  retain  the  French  orthography. 


206  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1240-1270 

They  fouj^ht  under  every  disadvantage:  if  they  prepared  to  fall 
back,  the  Arabian  cavalry  was  instantly  in  their  rear ;  if  they  made 
a  vigorous  stand,  it  was  immediately  beyond  their  pursuit.  In  the 
meantime  the  arrowy  showers  from  the  heights  did  not  fall  in 
vain,  and  the  Christians  began  to  faint  as  much  through  want  of 
food  and  water  as  through  fatigue.  Nor  did  night  bring  a  relief 
to  their  sutYerings:  they  were  constrained  to  remain  under  arms, 
to  repel  the  never-ceasing  attacks  of  their  sleepless  foes.  On  the 
following  day  their  prospect  of  escape  was  totally  precluded  by 
the  arrival  of  the  Egyptian  caliph  in  person,  at  the  head  of  a  con- 
siderable army.  They  were  surrounded ;  most  of  them  were  cut 
to  pieces ;  the  rest  compelled  to  surrender.  The  disastrous  news 
soon  reached  the  camp  of  Thibault  and  the  other  crusaders  who 
were  lying  before  Ascalon :  it  produced  unmixed  dismay,  yet  the 
dissensions  of  the  Cliristians  were  too  inveterate  to  rouse  them  to 
the  necessity  of  union.  The  French  princes  resolved  to  return, 
without  considering  that  the  disasters  of  the  crusade  were  mostly 
owing  to  themselves,  that  the  most  pressing  considerations  of 
honor,  religion,  and  even  humanity  compelled  them  to  remain ; 
in  opposition  to  the  entreaties  and  remonstrances  of  their  confed- 
erates they  embarked — Thibault  among  the  rest — at  the  port  of  St. 
Jean  d'Acre,  aiid,  followed  by  the  curses  of  their  abandoned  com- 
rades, safely  reached  France.  In  1253  Thibault  died,  leaving  the 
guardianship  of  his  youthful  son  and  kingdom  to  his  friend  Don 
Jayme  of  Aragon. 

Thibault  II.  found  a  generous  and  powerful  protector  in  the 
Aragonesc  king,  who,  whenever  his  presence  was  required  by  the 
interests  of  his  French  possessions,  preserved  his  kingdom  in  peace. 
In  1258,  while  at  Paris  in  attendance  on  his  feudal  lord,  he  mar- 
ried the  Princess  Isabelle,  daughter  of  St.  Louis.  This  connection 
with  tlie  house  of  France  was  unfortunate :  he  had  no  issue  by  it ; 
and  it  had  the  miscliievous  effect  of  making  him  assume  the  cross, 
in  conjunction  with  his  father-in-law.  Flaving  procured  a  wife  for 
his  brother  Ifeiiri,  in  whom  lie  placed  his  hopes  of  succession,  in 
1270  he  embarked  with  St.  Louis.  A  tempest,  or  rather  a  suc- 
cession of  tempests,  forced  the  Christian  fleet  to  the  African  coast. 
The  criba'lcrs  invested  Tunis,  which  tliey  were  una1)le  to  reduce: 
the  pl:ii^i-L'  l)n)ke  out  in  their  camp  and  carried  off  St.  Louis,  with 
many  chiefs  and  a  multitude  of  knights.  Tlie  siege  vras  igno- 
miniously  raised:  1'hibault,  accompanied  by  Philip,  son  and  heir 


NAVARRE  207 

1270-1278 

of  St.  Louis,  and  by  Charles,  king  of  Sicily,  sailed  to  that  island 
and  landed  at  Trepani,  where  fatigue  and  anxiety  brought  the 
Navarrese  king  to  the  grave. 

Henri,  the  brother  of  Thibault  II.,  did  not  long  enjoy  the 
scepter.  By  the  Princess  Blanche,  daughter  of  Robert,  count 
d'Artois,  and  niece  of  St.  Louis,  he  had  a  son  and  daughter.  The 
former,  however,  while  but  an  infant,  one  day  made  a  sudden 
spring  from  the  arms  of  the  nurse,  and  falling  from  a  high 
window,  was  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  ground  below :  the  terrified 
nurse  threw  herself  after  the  infant.  The  afflicted  father  now 
caused  the  Princess  Jeanne  to  be  recognized  as  his  successor. 

Jeanne  was  unanimously  proclaimed  sovereign  of  the  king- 
dom, and  the  administration  during  her  minority  confided  to  the 
queen-mother  Blanche  and  a  Navarrese  noble,  Don  Pedro  Sanchez 
de  Monteagudo.  The  power  thus  intrusted  to  this  subject  gave 
umbrage  to  the  rest  of  the  Navarrese  nobility,  and  not  merely 
intrigues,  but  open  force,  w^as  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing his  deposition.  Besides,  Ferdinand,  infante  of  Castile,  had 
for  some  time  looked  upon  the  princess  as  a  suitable  match  for  his 
eldest  son.  Unfortunately  for  him,  Don  Pedro  of  Aragon,  whom 
neither  party  had  Solicited  to  interfere,  entertained  the  same  views 
in  favor  of  his  son.  Under  the  pretense  of  supporting  their  re- 
spective partisans,  but  in  reality  to  gain  possession  of  the  heiress, 
each  of  the  princes  prepared  to  arm.  The  affrighted  Blanche,  who 
destined  both  her  daughter  and  the  crown  to  a  French  noble,  pre- 
cipitately fled  from  Pamplona  with  her  important  charge,  and,  on 
arriving  at  Paris  placed  herself,  the  young  princess,  and  the 
Navarrese  kingdom  under  the  protection  of  Philip  III.  Fler  flight 
only  added  fuel  to  domestic  strife.  Deprived  of  their  external 
supports,  the  two  parties  now  struggled  for  the  regency.  Hearing 
of  this  melancholy  news,  Blanche,  at  the  instance  of  the  French 
king,  sent  Eustace  de  Beaumarchais,  seneschal  of  Toulouse, — an 
officer  of  considerable  valor, — to  administer  the  affairs  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  salutary  severity  of  the  new  governor  soon  quelled  com- 
motion, but  did  not  reconcile  the  people  to  a  foreign  yoke.  Nor  was 
the  well-known  purpose  of  Blanche  of  uniting  her  daughter  to  the 
heir  of  Philip  at  all  agreeable  to  the  majority  of  the  Navarrese. 
Blanche  did  not  much  trouble  herself  about  the  opinions  of  the 
Navarrese,  but  finally  arranged  the  condititMis  of  the  marriage  with 


208  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1278-1328 

the  French  king.  The  party,  however,  which  was  opposed  to  the 
step  sought  to  be  revenged  on  the  governor.  In  1278  a  popular 
insurrection  forced  him  to  seek  shelter  in  the  castle  of  Pamplona. 
He  lost  no  time  in  acquainting  Philip  with  his  situation,  while 
the  chief  of  the  rebels,  Don  Garcia  de  Almoravides,  sought  the  aid 
of  Alfonso  el  Sabio,  and  even  occupied  the  passes  into  Navarre  to 
oppose  the  arrival  of  the  French  troops.  Philip  immediately  di- 
rected the  count  d'Artois,  father  of  Blanche,  to  march  with  the 
troops  which  lay  at  Toulouse  and  Carcassonne  to  the  succor  of 
Beaumarchais.  On  reaching  the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees  the  count 
found  the  passes  occupied,  but  he  effected  a  passage  through  an- 
other opening  into  Aragon,  and  marched  on  Pamplona,  which  he 
invested.  On  the  other  side  advanced  Alfonso  of  Castile,  not  less 
eager  to  dispute  with  France  the  superiority  over  the  kingdom. 
When  the  latter  found,  however,  that  the  count's  army  had  greatly 
the  advantage  in  numbers  (it  was  20,000  strong),  he  quietly  re- 
turned, leaving  the  Frenchmen  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the 
field.  Though  Don  Garcia  had,  for  a  moment,  made  a  vigorous 
defense,  he  was  no  sooner  acquainted  with  the  retreat  of  his  pro- 
tector than  he  secretly  fled  from  the  city,  accompanied  by  several 
barons  of  his  party.  The  citizens  now  consented  to  capitulate; 
but,  while  the  conditions  were  arranging,  a  body  of  French  troops, 
in  opposition,  we  are  told,  to  the  commands  of  their  officers,  scaled 
the  walls,  and  inflicted  a  terrific  carnage  on  the  defenseless  people, 
sparing  neither  sex,  the  old  nor  the  young,  and  using  the  women 
with  a  brutality  worse  than  death.  The  terror  caused  by  this 
massacre  effectually  secured  the  submission  of  the  kingdom ;  nor 
was  there  any  disturbance  when,  in  1284,  the  queen  gave  her  hand 
to  her  affianced  husband, — in  other  words,  when  Navarre  became 
a  province  of  France. 

During  the  next  four  reigns  Navarre  has  no  history  distinct 
from  that  of  France,  by  whose  sovereigns  it  was  governed.  On 
the  death  of  Jeanne,  in  1305,  the  scepter  devolved  on  her  son, 
Louis  Hutin,  who,  in  13 14,  succeeded  to  the  French  crown.  In 
13 16  he  died,  and  Philip  reigned  until  1322.  His  death  made  way 
for  Charles  L,  the  youngest  son  of  Jeanne,  on  whose  demise,  in 
T328,  Navarre  again  obtained  its  separate  sovereign.  Of  these 
French  princes.  Louis  was  the  only  one  who  ever  visited  the  Pe- 
ninsula, and  that  visit  was  before  his  elevation  to  the  throne  of 
I' ranee.     The   Navarrese   nobles,   at   the   commencement   of   each 


NAVARRE  209 

1328-1343 

reign,  were  compelled  to  visit  Paris  to  do  homage  to  their  sov- 
ereign, though  their  doing  so  was  a  direct  violation  of  the  consti- 
tution. To  Charles,  the  last  of  these  princes,  the  states  refused  to 
swear  allegiance,  unless,  in  conformity  with  ancient  custom,  he 
submitted  to  be  crowned  in  Pamplona;  yet  their  refusal  did  not 
prevent  his  governing  through  his  viceroy.  Charles  had,  indeed, 
no  lawful  claim  to  the  crown,  which  belonged  to  Jeanne,  daughter 
of  Louis  Hutin  and  grand-daughter  of  the  queen  of  that  name. 
If  the  Salic  law  excluded  her  from  the  throne  of  France,  her  right 
to  that  of  Navarre  was  indisputable,  and  on  the  death  of  Charles, 
in  1328,  the  states  assembled  at  Pamplona  immediately  recognized 
it.  It  was  first  opposed  by  Philip  de  Valois,  the  new  king  of 
France,  who  was  naturally  loath  to  forego  his  sovereignty  over 
the  country,  but  some  concessions  extorted  from  the  count  of 
Evreux,  husband  of  Jeanne,  obtained  his  consent  to  her  procla- 
mation. 

Jeanne  II.,  with  her  husband  Philip  (who  had  the  title  of 
king),  arrived  at  Pamplona  in  1329,  and  both  were  immediately 
crowned.  The  spectacle  of  a  coronation  was  new  to  the  Navarrese, 
who  testified  unbounded  joy  at  the  prospect  of  having  their  sov- 
ereigns again  among  them.  But  the  residence  of  the  queen  and 
her  husband  in  the  kingdom  appears  to  have  been  but  temporary, 
or,  at  most,  occasional,  since  in  the  obscure  events  of  this  time  we 
frequently  meet  with  the  names  of  the  viceroys  who  treated  with 
the  courts  of  Aragon  and  Castile.  Unfortunately  this  natural  joy 
was  accompanied,  or  but  immediately  preceded,  by  the  indiscrimi- 
nate massacre  of  the  Jews.  Wherever  that  extraordinary  people 
abode  they  were  sure  to  attract  the  hostility  of  their  Christian 
neighbors — partly,  no  doubt,  by  their  usurious  and  dishonest  deal- 
ings, but  chiefly,  perhaps,  by  their  peculiar  tenets  and  their  reputed 
exposure  to  the  wrath  of  Heaven.  The  first  year  of  the  reign  was 
peaceful:  but  about  1334  a  desultory  warfare — the  cause  and 
progress  of  which  we  should  vainly  attempt  to  discover — desolated 
the  frontiers  of  Navarre  and  Castile.  In  1336,  however,  peace 
was  restored,  and  all  animosity  was  so  far  forgotten  that,  in  1343, 
Philip  marched  with  a  considerable  reinforcement  to  aid  Alfonso 
XT.  of  Castile,  who  was  then  investing  Algeziras.  By  that  monarch 
he  was  received  with  extraordinary  honors,  but  the  operations  of 
the  siege,  though  the  place  was  pressed  with  vigor,  were  fatiguing, 
and  in  a  short  time  he  was  seized  with  an  illness  sericms  enough 


210  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1349-1356 

to  alarm  his  friends.  Having  retired  to  Xeres  de  la  Frontera,  his 
disorder  grew  worse,  and  he  breathed  his  last:  his  corpse  was 
conveyed  by  his  afilicted  troops  to  Pamplona. 

Jeanne  died  at  Paris  in  1349,  leaving  a  numerous  issue  by  her 
husband  Philip.  Of  her  younger  sons  (besides  Charles)  one  was 
created  count  de  Longueville,  the  other  count  de  Beaumont,  by 
the  French  king:  her  eldest  succeeded  her  in  the  throne  of 
Navarre. 

Charles  II.,  surnamed  le  Mauvais,  or  the  Bad,  who  was  in 
France  on  his  mother's  death,  returned  to  his  kingdom  the  follow- 
ing year,  to  be  crowned  at  Pamplona.  On  this  occasion  he  exhib- 
ited the  natural  sternness  of  his  disposition  by  the  severity  with 
which  he  punished  the  leaders  of  a  partial  insurrection,  who,  un- 
der the  usual  pretext  of  procuring  a  guarantee  for  the  national 
liberties,  aimed  at  anarchy  and  plunder.  His  next  care  was  to  con- 
firm the  good  understanding  subsisting  between  Navarre  and 
Castile,  an  object  no  less  desired  by  Pedro  the  Cruel :  for  this  pur- 
pose both  monarchs  had  an  interview  at  Burgos   in  1351. 

In  1352  Charles  passed  into  France,  to  promote  his  interests 
with  his  feudal  lord,  the  monarch  of  that  country.  The  following 
year  he  received  the  hand  of  Jeanne,  eldest  daughter  of  King  Jean. 
Emboldened  by  tliis  alliance,  he  solicited  the  restitution  of  the 
lordships  of  Champagne  and  Brie,  which  had  been  compulsorily 
surrendered  by  the  count  of  Evreux,  his  father,  and  which  he 
justly  considered  as  his  rightful  inheritance.  In  his  pretensions 
he  was  opposed  by  the  constable  of  France,  whom  he  caused  to  be 
assassinated.  As  a  defense  against  the  certain  vengeance  of  the 
French  king,  he  leagued  himself  with  Edward  III.  of  England  and 
other  enemies  of  France.  He  did  more;  though  by  his  lordship 
of  Evreux  and  other  possessions  he  was  among  the  chief  vassals 
of  Jean,  he  loudly  exclaimed  against  the  war  (and  still  more 
against  the  forced  contributions  to  support  it)  which  that  monarch 
had  declared  against  England.  As  he  was  too  powerful  to  be 
openly  punished,  he  was  seized,  under  the  mask  of  hospitality,  at 
the  table  of  the  dauphin ;  his  companions  were  put  to  death  and 
himself  consigned  to  close  confinement  in  a  fortress.  After  the 
celebrated  defeat  of  the  French  king  at  Poitiers,  and  the  troubles 
encountered  by  the  new  regent,  the  Navarrese  nobles,  especially 
Philip,  brother  of  the  king,  entertained  the  design  of  releasing 
Charles    from    captivity.      Having   disguised    themselves    as   coal- 


NAVARRE  211 

1361-1382 

men,  they  went  to  the  castle  of  Arleux,  in  Cambresis,  where  the 
royal  prisoner  then  lay,  scaled  the  walls  by  night  and  bore  him 
away, — no  doubt  with  the  connivance  of  the  governor, — in  great 
triumph  to  Amiens. 

Charles  returned  into  Navarre  in  1361.  He  was  soon  invited 
by  his  old  ally  Pedro  to  an  interview  at  Soria.  As  before,  he  was 
treated  with  marked  distinction  by  the  Castilian,  who,  however, 
requested  him,  in  virtue  of  the  alliance  which  they  had  before  con- 
tracted, and  which  they  now  renewed,  to  aid  in  the  war  that  Pedro 
was  about  to  wage  with  the  king  of  Aragon.  He  had  no  wish  to 
commence  hostilities  against  that  prince,  but  being  in  the  Castilian's 
power,  and  with  the  fate  of  the  murdered  Moorish  king  before 
him,  he  promised  his  aid ;  besides,  he  had  reason  to  expect  that  the 
preservation  or  amplification  of  his  domains  in  France  might  bring 
him  into  collision  with  the  monarch  of  that  country,  and  that  in 
the  support  of  his  pretensions  he  might  rely  on  the  co-operation  of 
Pedro.  In  his  relations  with  his  old  ally,  Charles,  however,  played 
the  part  of  a  deceiver,  and  at  the  same  time  became  the  victim  of 
his  own  duplicity.  In  short,  all  his  actions  were  characterized  by 
the  basest  perfidy  or  cupidity.  Yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he 
was  not,  on  the  whole,  tlie  best  Peninsular  sovereign  then  living, 
at  least  among  the  Christians :  in  neither  of  these  qualities  was  he 
more  infamous  than  the  two  Pedros  of  Portugal  and  Aragon ;  and 
he  was  certainly  both  less  dishonorable  and  less  cruel  than  the 
brother  kings  of  Castile. 

But  the  ambition  of  Charles  was  too  restless  and  too  un- 
scrupulous to  allow  him  to  remain  long  at  peace.  In  1377  he  is 
said  to  have  made  a  secret  agreement  with  the  English  Edward 
III.,  in  virtue  of  which  he  was  to  surrender  his  Norman  domains 
for  others  which  were  situated  in  Gascony,  and  consequently 
bordering  on  Navarre.  Enrique  of  Castile  was  under  too  great 
obligations  to  the  French  monarch  not  to  take  that  monarch's  part 
against  his  neighbor,  though  his  daughter  had  married  that  neigh- 
l)or's  son,  and  though  the  son-in-law,  at  this  moment,  was  a  pris- 
oner in  Paris.  The  war  turned  to  the  advantage  of  the  Castilian, 
so  that  Charles  was  glad  to  sue  for  peace,  which  he  easily  obtained 
on  the  condition  of  his  abandoning  his  allianc-e  with  England. 
Juan  I.,  the  successor  of  Enrique,  not  only  restored  the  places  which 
his  generals  had  reduced,  but  in  1382  procured  from  his  ally  the 
French  king  the  release  of  I'rince  Charles,  his  brother-in-law.    The 


212  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1387-1425 

prince  returned  the  obligation  by  aiding  the  Castilian  monarch  in 
the  wars  witli  Portugal  and  the  English. 

Ciiarles  died  in  1387.  His  character,  which  has  been  unneces- 
sarily darkened  by  the  French  historians,  must  be  sufficiently 
known  from  his  actions. 

Of  Charles  III.,  surnamed  the  Noble,  we  know  little.  Soon 
after  his  accession  his  Queen  Leonora,  a  princess  of  Castile,  under 
the  pretense  of  seeking  benefit  by  a  change  of  air,  obtained  his 
permission  to  visit  her  nephew's  court,  and,  when  there,  long  re- 
fused to  return  to  him.  The  reason  she  alleged  for  the  refusal 
was,  if  true,  a  sufficient  one:  she  attributed  her  illness  to  poison, 
administered  to  her  by  a  Jewish  leech.  By  the  protection  which 
Enrique  IIL  extended  to  her  during  several  successive  years,  and 
by  the  guarantees  he  required  from  the  husband  for  his  aunt's 
future  security  in  case  of  her  return,  we  may  infer  that  he  at  least 
believed  her  statement;  nor  is  it  easy  to  conceive  that  she  could 
forsake  her  husband's  court  and  kingdom  without  some  pow^erful 
cause.  Her  intriguing  character,  however,  in  times  when  intrigue 
and  violence  alone  were  dominant  in  Castile,  at  length  so  irritated 
her  nephew  that,  with  the  advice  of  his  council,  he  determined  on 
her  return  to  Pamplona,  on  the  condition  of  a  solemn  oath  from 
Charles,  not  only  that  her  life  and  liberty  should  be  secure,  but 
that  she  should  be  treated  w-ith  the  affection  due  to  her  conjugal 
character. 

Charles,  who  could  not  behold  without  regret  the  loss  of  his 
hereditary  domains  in  France,  in  1403  went  to  the  court  of  that 
kingdom  to  solicit  their  restitution.  With  great  difficulty  he  ob- 
tained the  territory  of  Nemours,  with  the  title  of  duke,  an  annual 
pension  of  12,000  francs,  and  a  sum  of  200,000  crowds,  as  an 
indemnity  for  the  loss  of  his  revenues  during  so  many  years. 

The  long  reign  of  Charles  was  pacific,  a  blessing  ow'ing  as 
much  to  his  disposition  as  to  his  alliances  with  the  courts  of  Aragon 
and  C  astile.  In  1423  he  caused  his  grandson  of  the  same  name, 
son  of  liis  (laughter  Blanche  and  Juan  of  Aragon,  to  be  declared 
his  successor  after  tliat  princess,  and  to  be  styled  prince  of  Viana. 
He  died  (jf  apojjlexy,  in  September,  1425. — an  event  wdiich  filled 
his  suljjects,  by  wliom  he  was  beloved,  v.ith  lamentation. 

P.ianchc  and  Juan  I.,  her  husband,  to  whom  she  abandoned 
the  cares  of  g(i\crnmcnt,  were  immediately  proclaimed  sovereigns 
of  Navarre.      The  scepter  was  now,   for  the  first  time  since  the 


NAVARRE 

1425-1452 

death  of  Sancho  VI.  In  1234,  in  the  hands  of  a  prince  who,  both 
by  descent  and  birth,  could  properly  be  called  a  native  of  the 
Peninsula. 

The  long  reign  of  this  prince  was  passed  in  fomenting  the 
troubles  of  Castile,  of  which  he  continued  a  vassal,  both  as  grand- 
master of  a  military  order  and  as  the  owner  of  spacious  domains 
in  that  kingdom.  Those  troubles  have  been  sufficiently  explained 
in  a  former  chapter  and  need  not  be  repeated  here.  The  part 
which  both  he  and  his  brother  Alfonso,  king  of  Aragon,  took  in 
them,  during  the  feeble  reigns  of  Juan  II.  and  a  part  of  Enrique 
IV.,  would  afford  little  entertainment  and  no  instruction  to  the 
reader. 

In  1441  died  Queen  Blanche,  who,  as  sole  proprietary  sov- 
ereign of  the  state,  and  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  Charles  III., 
left  the  scepter  to  her  son  Charles,  the  prince  of  Viana.  In  her  will, 
however,  she  recommended  the  prince  not  to  assume  the  government 
without  the  consent  and  benediction  of  his  father,  who  was  then 
in  Castile,  occupied  as  usual  in  fomenting  the  troubles  of  that  dis- 
tracted kingdom.  Juan  had  no  disposition  to  lay  down  a  dignity 
which  he  had  resolved  to  retain  during  life.  In  1444  he  entered 
into  a  second  marriage  with  Dona  Juana,  daughter  of  the  admiral 
of  Castile,  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  disaffected  party,  or  at  least  of 
the  one  hostile  to  the  constable  Don  Alvaro  de  Luna.  In  his  bane- 
ful activity  he  was  the  support  of  the  infante  Enrique,  so  long  as 
that  prince  was  disposed  to  make  war  on  his  father,  Juan  II. ;  but 
whenever  the  latter  returned  to  his  duty,  he  took  part  with  any 
nobles  who  were  ready  to  embarrass  the  king.  No  less  eagerly  did 
he  espouse  the  quarrels  of  his  brother  Alfonso  whenever  that 
monarch  was  at  war  with  Castile. 

But  the  king  of  Navarre  was  not  always  at  liberty  thus  to 
carry  the  scourge  of  war  into  the  Castilian's  territory.  In  1452, 
after  the  birth  of  Ferdinand,  his  brother,  the  offspring  of  Juan's 
second  marriage,  Charles  openly  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  to  see  Pamplona,  Olite,  Tafalla,  and  Aylon 
declare  for  him.  The  king  was  then  in  Aragon,  which  he  governed 
during  his  brother's  absence  in  the  wars  of  Italy;  but  he  hastily 
assembled  troops  and  passed  into  Navarre.  Though  he  found  that 
his  son,  who  had  first  received  a  reinforcement  of  cavalry  from 
Castile — for  Juan  IT.  was  not  slow  in  supporting  a  rebellious  son 
against  a   father  who  had  so  often  raised  his  son  against  him — 


214  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1452-1469 

was  superior  in  force,  the  Navarrese  king  prepared  for  battle.  It 
ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  prince,  who  was  taken  prisoner  and 
consigned  to  a  fortress.  There  he  remained  about  a  year,  and  there 
he  woukl  have  long  continued  to  remain,  notwithstanding  the 
remonstrances  of  the  Castilian  king,  or  even  of  the  Aragonese 
states,  had  not  the  Navarrese  armed  for  his  deliverance.  The  king 
was  forced  to  yield, — he  evidently  bore  no  affection  to  his  son, — 
to  confirm  Charles  in  the  principality  of  Viana,  and  abandon  to 
him  half  the  royal  revenues. 

A  reconciliation  thus  forcibly  effected  was  not  likely  to  be 
lasting;  in  fact,  it  was  agreeable  to  neither  party:  the  father  wished 
to  punish  the  rebellious  son,  the  son  to  obtain  what  he  considered 
his  undoubted  heritage;  hence  in  1455  both  prepared  to  renew  the 
contest.  The  inhabitants  of  Pamplona  w^re  so  indignant  at  this 
that  they  elected  Charles  their  king  and  solicited  aid  from  Enrique 
(now  king  of  Castile).  To  end  these  disgraceful  transactions 
King  Alfonso  dispatched  one  of  his  nobles  from  Naples  with  in- 
structions to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  on  any  terms.  Unfortu- 
nately, how^ever,  this  monarch  died  without  legitimate  issue,  in 
1458,  leaving  his  brother,  the  king  of  Navarre,  heir  of  all  his  do- 
minions in  Spain,  with  the  Balearic  Isles  and  Sicily;  and  no  one 
remained  influential  enough  to  finish  the  friendly  work  wdiich  he 
had  begun. 

After  the  death  of  Charles  and  of  Blanche  the  condition  of 
Navarre  was  deplorable.  In  1469  the  count  de  Foix,  enraged  that 
the  government  was  not  confided  to  him  by  his  father-in-law,  in- 
vaded the  kingdom,  but  w^as  speedily  expelled  by  the  archbishop 
of  Saragossa,  an  illegitimate  son  of  Juan.  This  was  not  the  only 
mortification  of  the  count :  the  same  year  he  lost  his  son  Gaston 
de  Foix,  who  was  killed,  whether  accidentally  or  by  design  is 
doubtful,  in  a  tourney  at  Bourdeaux.  By  the  Princess  Magdeleine 
the  young  prince  left  a  son  named  Phoebus  and  a  daughter  named 
Catherine,  who  in  the  sequel  swayed  the  scepter  of  Navarre.  Anar- 
cliy  and  violence  now  reigned  triumphant :  the  two  parties,  the 
Beaumonts  and  the  Agramontese,  became  more  implacable  thjin 
ever :  the  chief  of  one,  Don  Pedro  de  Peralta,  assassinated  in  open 
day  the  bishop  of  Pamplona,  though  that  prelate  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  the  Countess  Leonora,  then  at  Tafalla.  In  short,  owing 
to  the  character  of  tlie  king,  whose  authority,  even  had  he  been 
present,  wcAild  have  been  disputed  by  a  considcral)le  party,  there 


NAVARRE  215 

1476-1483 

was  no  government;  for  though  Leonora,  from  her  evident  prox- 
imity to  the  throne,  was  courted  by  many  nobles,  her  commands 
were  seldom  obeyed,  while  her  intrigues  were  frequently  thwarted. 
The  countess  herself  had  soon  experience  of  this  truth. 
At  this  juncture  a  sudden  death  seized  her  husband  in  the 
Pyrenees.  Bereft  of  her  chief  support,  of  one  whose  name  had 
hitherto  strengthened  her  government,  Leonora  was  henceforth 
more  obnoxious  than  ever  to  the  violence  of  the  Beaumonts  and 
less  able  to  preserve  peace  between  the  factions.  In  1476  Juan  and 
Ferdinand,  who  with  Isabel  had  ascended  the  Castilian  throne, 
met  at  Tudela  to  restore  order  in  the  realm. 

On  the  death  of  Juan  in  1479  Leonora  was  proclaimed  sov- 
ereign of  the  kingdom.  Her  empire,  the  object  for  which  she  had 
incurred  such  a  heavy  load  of  guilt,  was  exceedingly  fleeting:  her 
father  died  on  the  19th  of  January;  on  the  loth  of  the  following 
month  she  herself  was  a  corpse.  She  had  barely  time  to  make  a 
will,  in  which  she  declared  Phoebus,  the  offspring  of  her  son  Gas- 
ton and  the  Princess  Magdeleine,  heir  to  the  throne.  In  the  same 
act  she  placed  the  kingdom  under  the  protection,  not  of  her 
brother  Ferdinand,  now  king  of  Aragon  and  Castile,  the  nearest 
relation  by  blood,  but  of  the  French  monarch. 

Frangois  Phoebus,  w^ho  was  very  young  on  his  grandmother's 
death,  was  not  permitted  by  the  Princess  Magdeleine  to  pass  the 
Pyrenees  until  1482.  The  civil  wars  of  the  two  rival  factions, 
which  now  raged  with  greater  fury  than  ever,  justified  her  ma- 
ternal caution.  Frangois's  first  care  was  to  restore  harmony  be- 
tween the  factions;  he  made  a  decree  that  whoever  should  ever 
name  the  rallying  words  Beaumont  and  Agramont  should  be 
severely  punished.  The  crafty  sovereigns  of  Castile  immediately 
proposed  to  him  a  matrimonial  connection ;  but  his  mother,  alarmed 
for  the  interests  of  France,  and  resolved  that  he  should  marry  no 
one  but  a  Valois,  speedily  hurried  him  over  the  Pyrenees.  If  she 
thereby  averted  the  odious  match,  she  could  not  avert  the  destiny 
which  hung  over  the  house  of  Foix :  the  king  suddenly  died  at  Pau, 
in  about  two  months  after  his  coronation, 

Catherine,  the  sister  of  Phoebus,  was  immediately  proclaimed 
sovereign,  and  as  speedily  was  an  embassy  sent  to  the  mother 
]\Iagdeleinc  by  the  Castilian  sovereigns,  who  proposed  the  marriage 
of  the  infante  Juan  with  that  princess.  ]\Iagdeleine  civilly  declined 
the  offer,  pretending  that  she  could  do  nothing  in  such  a  business 


216  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1484-1512 

without  the  consent  of  the  French  king.  The  subject,  however, 
was  speedily  turned  into  a  source  of  contention  by  the  rival  fac- 
tions, the  one  shouting  for  a  Castilian,  the  other  for  a  French  hus- 
band. To  remove  this  pretext  of  strife,  the  princess  was  given  the 
following  year  by  her  brother,  the  king  of  France,  to  Jean  d'Albret, 
whose  estates  bordered  on  those  of  Navarre.  The  information  was 
mortifying  to  FercHnand  and  Isabella,  and  though  they  contrived 
to  gain  possession  of  Tudela,  one  city  was  a  poor  compensation  for 
the  loss  of  a  kingdom.  The  queen  and  king  of  Navarre,  however, 
were  not  crowned  until  1494. 

During  the  following  years,  though  Ferdinand  was  busily 
occupied  in  his  wars  with  France,  he  never  lost  sight  of  Navarre, 
nor  abandoned  the  resolution  of  seizing  it  whenever  a  favorable 
opportunity  should  occur.  Unfortunately  for  the  independence  of 
the  country,  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Navarrese  king  to  oppose  and 
exasperate  his  brother  of  Castile :  in  almost  every  dispute  of  Ferdi- 
nand with  the  kings  of  France  or  the  emperor  he  took  the  part  of 
the  former.  Nor  need  this  surprise  us :  the  lion  of  Castile  held 
violent  possession  of  his  fortresses,  and  by  every  act  showed  a  dis- 
position to  spring  on  the  remainder  of  the  prey.  It  was  hoped  that 
the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  with  a  princess  of  the  house  of  Foix, 
niece  to  Louis,  would  render  him  more  considerate  towards  the 
interests  of  his  new  kindred ;  but  the  hope  was  vain.  Ferdinand 
now  determined  to  strike  the  blow  which  he  had  so  long  meditated, 
— to  seize  on  the  whole  country  and  unite  it  with  his  hereditary 
estates. 

In  July,  1 5 12,  the  duke  of  Alba,  general  of  Ferdinand, 
marched  from  Vittoria  direct  on  Pamplona;  the  queen  had  retired 
into  France,  and  Jean  d'Albret,  instead  of  encouraging  his  subjects 
by  his  presence  to  hold  out,  prepared  to  follow  the  example.  Be- 
fore his  departure  he  assembled  the  chief  inhabitants  of  that  capital, 
exhorted  them  to  make  a  vigorous  resistance,  and  promised  them 
soon  to  return  from  France  with  a  formidable  army.  He  had 
scarcely  reached  the  Pyrenees  when  the  Duke  of  Alba  arrived  be- 
fore the  place,  which  was  summoned  to  surrender,  and  which 
did  surrender  without  firing  a  shot.  Ferdinand  now  marched  with 
reinforcements,  and  most  of  the  fortresses  of  the  kingdom  sur- 
rendered to  him,  or  his  martial  son,  the  archbishop  of  Saragossa. 
It  was  not,  however,  to  be  expected  that  France  would  tamely  wit- 
ness the  usurpation  of  the  Spaniard.     A  formidable  army,  under 


NAVARRE  217 

1516 

the  dukes  de  Long-tteville  and  Valois,  and  accompanied  by  the 
expelled  king,  speedily  crossed  the  frontier  and  laid  siege  to 
Pomplona.  But  in  a  few  days,  owing  partly  to  the  want  of  pro- 
visions in  the  camp  of  the  invaders  and  partly  to  the  destructive 
assaults  of  the  Spaniards,  who  yet  refrained  from  a  general  action, 
the  siege  was  raised,  and  the  French  army  returned  into  Guienne. 
Its  inglorious  departure  was  followed  by  the  submission  of  the 
whole  kingdom  to  Ferdinand.  The  succeeding  year  King  Jean 
made  another  effort  to  regain  the  throne,  but  with  as  little  success. 
From  the  blood-stained  house  of  Foix  the  scepter  had  forever 
departed :  nor  could  all  the  armies  of  France,  during  the  reigns 
of  the  Emperor  Charles  and  his  son  Philip,  restore  it  to  the 
descendants  of  Jean.  Both  Catherine  and  her  husband  died  in 
1516. 


Chapter   XI 

COUNTS   OF  BARCELONA.   801-1162 

AMONG  the  numerous  lordships  of  Catalonia,  that  of  Bar- 
/  \  celona,  being  the  sole  one  which  at  any  time  exhibited 
X  -11.  the  attributes  of  sovereignty,  is  the  only  one  that  can  be 
admitted  into  the  present  compendium.  The  rest  were  either 
dependent  on  it  or  on  the  French  kings  prior  to  the  merging  of  all 
in  the  crown  of  Aragon. 

The  exploits  of  Otgar  and  his  nine  companions,  who  are  said 
to  have  made  considerable  conquests  in  the  Tarraconensian  prov- 
ince, or  the  countrv^  lying  between  the  Ebro  and  the  Pyrenees,  prior 
t<^  the  irruption  of  Charlemagne  in  778.  are  evidently  fabulous. 
That  a  German  or  Northman,  named  Otgar  and  surnamed  Catalo, 
governor  of  Guienne  for  King  Pepin,  being  filled  with  grief  at  the 
miserable  state  of  this  province  under  the  misbelievers,  assembled 
nine  bold  companions,  each  with  a  resolute  band,  and  passed  the 
mountain  barrier ;  that  during  a  ten  years'  war  he  reduced  most 
of  the  fortified  places,  restoring  liberty  to  Christianity  and  its  wor- 
shipers ;  that  from  him  the  province  changed  its  name  from  Tar- 
ragona to  Catalonia ;  that  his  nine  companions  were  so  many 
barons,  each  with  a  separate  government,  but  subject  to  their  chief ; 
that  on  the  death  of  Otgar  while  pressing  the  siege  of  Ampurias  he 
was  succeeded  by  one  of  the  barons ;  that  on  the  approach  of  a  vast 
iMohammedan  army  the  Christian  knights,  foreseeing  the  impossi- 
bility of  resistance,  reluctantly  retired  to  the  fastnesses  of  the 
Pyrenees,  where  they  remained  until  the  army  of  Charlemagne, 
which  they  joined,  made  its  celebrated  irruption  into  tlie  province; 
all  these  are  inventions  merely,  which  have  no  foundation  in  ancient 
autliorities,  which  are  read  for  the  first  time  in  one  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  wliich  are  at  variance  with  the  statements  of  the 
Frank  writers  of  the  period. 

1  he  arrival  of  Ben  Alarabi,  styled  Afohammedan  governor 
of  Saragossa,  or  an  embassy  from  him.  at  the  court  of  Charle- 
magne, who  was  then  at  Paderborn,  and  his  offer  to  become  a  vas- 

218 


BARCELONA  219 

781-812 

sal  of  the  emperor  on  the  condition  of  his  being-  protected  against 
the  resentment  of  Abderahman  I.,  king  of  Cordova,  have  been 
already  related.  We  are  assured  that  Gerona,  Huesca,  Saragossa, 
and  even  Barcelona  submitted  to  the  invader,  their  Mohammedan 
governors  doing  homage  to  him  as  obedient  vassals.  His  success, 
however,  was  but  transient;  for  in  781  Abderahman  easily  recov- 
ered these  places,  and  was  again  acknowledged  as  undisputed  mas- 
ter of  all  Aragon  and  Catalonia.  In  785  Gerona  again  submitted 
to  Louis,  king  of  Aquitaine,  son  of  the  emperor,  who,  convinced 
that  the  Moorish  vassal  had  been  perfidious  in  the  surrender  of  the 
place  to  Abderahman,  nominated  a  Christian  count  to  the  govern- 
ment. In  796  the  French  generals,  by  the  command  of  Louis,  re- 
turned to  the  Peninsula,  where  they  collected  booty  and  captives 
in  abundance.  Though  they  undertook  no  siege,  their  arrival  is 
said  to  have  so  terrified  Zeyad,  wali  of  Barcelona,  that  he  became 
a  vassal  of  the  emperor.  But  Zeyad  in  799  again  transferred  his 
allegiance  to  the  king  of  Cordova.  This  perfidy  so  irritated  Louis 
that  another  Frank  army  laid  waste  Catalonia,  took  and  destroyed 
Lerida,  and  laid  siege  to  Barcelona.  Though  the  city  was  vigor- 
ously invested,  it  made  a  noble  defense  during  two  years.  Zeyad, 
convinced  that  resistance  was  hopeless,  departed  for  Gothic  Gaul, 
with  the  intention  of  again  recognizing  Charlemagne  as  lord  para- 
mount of  Catalonia.  No  sooner,  however,  did  he  appear  before 
Louis  than  he  was  arrested  as  a  traitor  and  sent  to  the  emperor, 
who  condemned  him  to  a  rigorous  exile.  The  king  of  Aquitaine 
now  hastened  to  an  easy  conquest.  After  six  weeks  more  of  fre- 
quent assault  and  a  close  investment,  the  inhabitants  consented  to 
surrender  both  the  city  and  its  governor  (Omar,  a  relation  of 
Zeyad)  on  the  condition  of  their  being  allowed  to  retire  wherever 
they  pleased.  The  condition  was  accepted ;  Louis  made  a  tri- 
umphant entry;  the  Christian  worship  was  restored  in  all  its 
splendor;  a  Christian  garrison  was  established,  and  Bera,  a  native 
of  Gothic  Gaul,  nominated  in  801  first  Count  of  Barcelona. 

Of  Bera's  administration  we  have  nothing  in  detail,  but  are 
informed  that  it  was  characterized  by  great  rapacity  and  cruelty. 
Hiat  lie  was  not  much  worse  in  this  respect  than  the  other  counts 
of  Catalonia  may  be  inferred  from  the  complaints  of  the  people, 
and  from  the  edict  in  favor  of  the  'oppressed  promulgated  by 
Charlemagne  in  812.  In  it  Bera  and  the  otlier  governors  were 
strictly    enjoined    to    discontinue    their    vexations,    of    which    the 


220  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

802-820 

archbisliop  of  Aries  was  commissioned  to  inquire  into  the  extent, 
and  do  justice  towards  the  sufferers.  But  the  count  was  at  length 
accused  by  one  Sunila,  a  Barcelonian  of  distinction,  not  only  of 
rapacity  but  of  treason,  and  the  question  of  his  innocence  or  guilt 
was  decided  in  820  by  a  single  combat  between  the  accuser  and  the 
accuseil  before  the  Emperor  Louis.  Bera  was  vanquished,  was 
therefore  convicted  of  the  crime,  and  subject  to  the  last  penalty, 
but  by  the  clemency  of  the  emperor  death  was  mitigated  into  ban- 
ishment to  Rouen. 

During  the  period  of  Bera's  sovereignty  hostilities  were  not 
infrequent  between  the  Mohammedans  and  Franks.  In  802  Louis 
assembled  a  great  army  at  Barcelona,  took  Tarragona,  and  laid 
waste  the  country  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tortosa.  At  the  same 
time  a  division  of  his  army  under  Bera,  Borello,  count  of  Ossuna, 
and  other  generals  passed  the  Ebro  and  destroyed  the  Moham- 
medan possessions  as  far  as  the  gates  of  Villarabia.  An  army  of 
the  enemy,  how^ever,  headed  by  Alhakem  in  person,  soon  forced 
them  to  retreat.  The  following  year  they  renewed  their  attempts 
on  Tortosa,  but  without  effect.  In  804,  how^ever,  the  king  of 
Aquitaine  reduced  the  place,  after  a  bloody  siege  of  forty  days ; 
but  his  generals  failed  before  Huesca.  In  the  sequel  both  places 
were  recovered,  and  tliough  in  809  Louis  vigorously  assailed 
Tortosa,  he  was  compelled  to  raise  the  siege  and  retreat  before 
Prince  Abderahman,  son  of  the  Mohammedan  king.  If  Huesca 
and  Saragossa  soon  afterw^ards  acknowledged  Charlemagne  as 
their  liege  superior,  both  were  speedily  recovered  by  the  arms  of 
Alhakem.  Such  was  the  ordinary  fortune  which  attended  the  wars 
of  this  period.  Both  at  length  agreed  to  a  peace,  or  perhaps  a 
truce. 

On  the  deposition  of  Bera,  Bernardo,  son  of  Wilhelm,  count 
of  Narbonne,  was  intrusted  with  the  fief  of  Barcelona.  War  was 
now  declared  by  the  Franks  against  Alhakem ;  but  though  the 
Christian  historians  award  the  success  to  the  generals  of  Louis, 
it  is  certain  that  so  long  as  that  king  lived  such  success  is  very 
doubtful.  On  the  accession  of  Abderahman  the  troubles  wdiich  in- 
ternally agitated  the  Mohammedan  kingdom  afforded  a  good 
f)])ening  for  the  warlike  counts  to  resume  their  irruptions.  With 
one  of  these  successful  rebels  the  Arabian  king  allied  himself,  and 
speedily  improved  tlic  opportunity  by  reducing  Manresa,  Cardona, 
Salsona,   and   otlicr    fortresses.       In    fact,   the   domination   of   the 


BARCELONA  221 

820-843 

Franks  was  now  confined  to  some  places  at  the  foot  of  the 
Pyrenees. 

For  some  years  no  efforts  were  made  to  recover  these  lost 
conquests.  The  dissensions,  which  even  during  the  life  of  Louis 
prevailed  among  his  sons,  afforded  the  Franks  little  opportunity 
for  prosecuting  the  war  with  the  Mohammedans.  During  these 
years  we  frequently  find  Bernardo  at  the  court  of  Louis.  In  829 
he  was  made  grand  chamberlain,  was  intrusted  with  the  education 
of  Charles,  afterwards  surnamed  the  Bald,  and  received  as  a 
partner  in  the  empire,  a  fortune  which  rendered  him  peculiarly 
obnoxious  to  the  fierce  sons  of  the  monarch.  The  imprudent  part, 
however,  which  he  took  in  fomenting  the  undutiful  conduct  of 
Pepin,  king  of  Aquitaine,  whom  he  encouraged  to  arm  against 
Louis,  led  in  832  to  his  deprivation  of  his  various  dignities.  In 
revenge  he  caused  Burgundy  to  declare  in  favor  of  Pepin.  In- 
dignant at  his  audacity,  Lothaire,  brother  and  rival  of  Pepin  and 
the  enemy  of  Bernardo,  violated  the  sanctity  of  the  cloister  by 
seizing  the  nun  Gerberg,  the  count's  sister,  and  drowning  her  in 
the  Arar  on  the  pretense  of  her  being  a  Avitch.  A  brother  and 
cousin  of  his  were  consigned  to  an  untimely  end  and  another 
relative  banished. 

Whatever  might  be  the  dignity  held  by  Bernardo  from  832  to 
836,  there  seems  little  doubt  that  from  the  latter  year  to  the  period 
of  his  death  he  was  count  of  Barcelona,  and  from  840,  at  least, 
he  was  certainly  duke  of  Septimania.  He  did  not  long  survive  his 
restoration  to  power.  By  the  death  of  Louis  in  840  Catalonia  and 
Gothic  Gaul  fell  to  Charles,  the  youngest  son»  of  that  emperor. 
Indignant  that  in  the  division  of  the  empire  no  portion  was  left 
for  him,  Pepin,  son  of  the  re1)cllious  prince  of  that  name,  no  sooner 
heard  of  his  grandfather's  death  than  he  seized  on  Aquitaine. 
Bernardo  formed  the  party  of  the  son  as  he  had  formed  that  of 
the  father,  and  when  summoned  by  Charles,  his  new  sovereign, 
to  do  homage  in  person  for  his  fief,  he  hastened  to  disarm  by  his 
presence  that  prince's  anger.  His  arrest  was  resolved;  he  fled; 
his  domestics  were  laden  with  fetters,  and  his  movable  property 
seized.  Feeling  tliat  he  was  unef(ual  to  contend  with  so  powerful 
a  prince,  he  forsoiA-,  or  pretended  to  forsake,  Pepin,  gained  the 
advisers  of  Charles,  and  again  waited  on  the  king,  who  pardoned 
him.  In  the  wars  which  followed  he  remained  neuter;  but  when 
in  843, on  a  new  division  between  the  two  brothers,  Catalonia  again 


222  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

844-858 

fell  to  Charles,  he  began  to  aim  at  independence.  However  cau- 
tious his  proceedings,  they  reached  the  ears  of  his  superior,  who 
concealed  his  resentment,  but  meditated  revenge.  Being  sum- 
moned to  attend  a  convocation  of  the  states  at  Toulouse,  he 
reluctantly  obeyed.  On  entering  the  assembly,  as  he  knelt  to  do 
homage,  Charles  seized  him  with  the  left  hand  and  with  the  right 
plunged  a  poniard  into  his  heart. 

Wilhelm,  the  son  of  Bernardo,  resolved  to  revenge  this 
treacherous  deed.  The  incursions  of  the  Scandinavians,  who  now 
began  to  ravage  the  province  of  Neustria,  seemed  to  afford  him  a 
propitious  opportunity  for  his  purpose.  Having  collected  a  few 
troops,  he  surprised  Toulouse,  where  his  family  had  doubtless 
many  partisans ;  but  the  city  being  invested  by  Charles,  he  con- 
trived to  effect  his  escape  and  to  reach  the  court  of  Abderahman. 
The  Arabian  king  promised  to  aid  him  in  the  recovery  of  his 
father's  fief,  on  the  condition  of  vassalage,  and  caused  troops  to 
be  immediately  collected  for  the  purpose.  At  the  head  of  his  Mo- 
hammedan  allies,  and  of  such  Christians  as  chose  to  join  him, 
he  returned  into  Xarbonensian  Gaul,  where  his  followers  com- 
mitted great  excesses.  To  damp  his  party  in  Catalonia,  at  least, 
Charles  intrusted  the  fief  of  Barcelona  and  Gothic  Gaul  to 
Aledran,  an  officer  of  great  valor,  and  made  peace  with  Ab- 
derahman. But,  though  thus  deserted  by  his  ally  and  constrained 
to  f^ee  before  the  French  generals,  Wilhelm  was  not  discouraged. 
He  was  still  at  the  head  of  some  followers,  whose  predatory  excur- 
sions supplied  him  not  merely  with  necessaries,  but  with  wealth. 
With  the  latter,  and  still  more  with  the  aid  of  his  secret  creatures, 
in  848  he  obtained  possession  of  both  Ampurias  and  Barcelona. 
Not  satisfied  with  this  success,  he  next  aspired  to  the  possession 
of  all  Catalonia.  The  governors  of  the  frontiers  collected  troops 
and  hastened  to  oppose  him.  They  vanquished  him  and  compelled 
him  to  a  hasty  retreat.  During  his  absence  from  the  capital  two  of 
b.is  captives,  counts  who  had  partisans  in  Barcelona  and  who  were 
aided  by  those  of  Aledran,  formed  a  conspiracy  against  him  and 
stabbed  him  on  his  return  to  tlie  city.  The  Frank  domination 
was  now  re-established  and  the  exiled  count  restored  to  his  dignity. 

Vv  if  redo  I.  (or  Hunfrido)  is  first  mentioned  as  count  in  858, 
on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  made  by  two  French  monks  in  quest  of 
relics,  hence  we  may  infer  that  he  was  occupied  in  Gothic  Gaul, 
prubabiy  ivA  yet  severed  from  the  Spanish  march.     He,  however, 


BARCELONA  223 

865-884 

is  mentioned  as  the  last  marquis  of  Gothia,  his  dominions  north 
of  the  Pyrenees  being,  about  865,  separated  from  the  lordship  of 
Barcelona  and  incorporated  with  that  of  Toulouse.  This  division 
he  appears  to  have  anticipated,  for  in  863  he  seized  by  open  force 
on  Toulouse  and  other  places  under  the  pretext  that  they  belonged 
to  the  fief  of  Barcelona.  But  by  Charles  the  Bald  he  was  deprived 
of  his  usurpation,  and  thenceforth  regarded  with  suspicion.  Of 
this  circumstance  advantage  was  taken  by  one  Count  Salomon, 
a  Frank,  who  aspired  to  the  fief,  and  who  was  not  very  scrupulous 
about  the  manner  in  which  the  present  possessor  might  be  deprived 
of  it.  By  his  malicious  representations  the  king  commanded 
Wifredo  to  appear  at  Narbonne.  The  count,  accompanied  by  his 
son,  a  youth  of  tender  years,  obeyed  the  mandate.  On  reaching 
Narbonne  he  fell  in  a  popular  affray;  the  soldiers  of  his  escort 
pretended  to  quarrel,  probably  at  the  instigation  of  Salomon,  and, 
in  attempting  to  restore  harmony  between  them  he  received  a 
mortal  wound.  As  he  alone  fell  on  this  occasion,  his  death  has 
not  been   considered   accidental. 

Salomon  obtained  the  object  of  his  ambition,  but  his  govern- 
ment, of  which  no  record  remains,  was  not  of  long  duration.  The 
manner  in  which  he  lost  both  it  and  life,  as  related  by  the  oldest 
authority  for  his  actions,  the  anonymous  monk  of  Ripol,  has  an 
improbable  and  even  romantic  air.  As  the  young  Wifredo,  who 
had  been  consigned  to  the  care  of  the  count  of  Flanders,  grew  in 
years,  he  became  passionately  fond  of  the  count's  daughter,  and  it 
soon  appeared  that  his  love  was  returned  with  more  ardor  than 
virtue.  The  countess  discovered  the  situation  of  her  daughter, 
but  was  so  far  moved  by  the  tears  and  protestations  of  the  delin- 
quent as  not  to  re\eal  it  to  the  count.  After  some  reflection,  like 
a  prudent  mother,  she  sought  an  interview  with  Wifredo,  and 
required  an  oath  from  him, — an  oath  which  he  willingly  took, — 
that  if  fortune  ever  put  him  in  possession  of  his  father's  fief,  he 
would  make  the  victim  of  his  passion  his  wife.  She  also  insisted 
that  he  should  leave  Flanders  and  return  to  Barcelona,  where  his 
mother  and  kindred  resided.  Jf^urneying  on  foot  towards  Spain, 
he  entered  Barcelona  at  nightfall  and  hastened  to  his  mother's 
house.  His  kindred  were  secretly  assembled,  a  conspiracy  was 
formed  to  restfjre  him,  and,  by  so  doing,  to  revenge  the  death  of  the 
elder  Wifredo.  Hearing  one  day  that  the  count  (Salomon)  was 
riding  out  through  the  city  unattended,  Wifredo,  accompanied  In' 


224.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

884-928 

some  of  his  relations,  hastened  to  the  place,  drew  his  sword,  and 
ran  it  throuf^h  the  governor's  body.  To  the  astonished  crowd 
whom  this  deed  assembled  he  declared  who  he  was,  and  how  he 
had  revenged  his  murdered  father,  and,  amidst  the  acclamations  of 
all,  was  raised  to  the  vacant  dignity. 

Wifredo  II.,  continues  the  authority,  lost  no  time  in  fulfilling 
the  pledge  he  had  given  the  countess  of  Flanders.  He  dispatched 
an  ambassy  to  that  court,  acquainted  his  benefactor  with  what  he 
had  done,  and  demanded  the  hand  of  his  promised  bride.  The 
count  not  only  readily  acquiesced,  but  went  to  the  French  king 
and  represented  that  what  his  son-in-law  had  done  was  only  in 
pursuance  of  a  purpose  commendable  in  that  age, — revenge, — 
and  procured  not  only  Wifredo's  pardon,  but  the  confirmation  of 
his  dignity.  Having  received  this  unexpected  intelligence,  the  new 
governor  hastened  to  the  court  of  Charles,  to  whom  his  manners 
rendered  him  agreeable.  While  there,  news  reached  him  that  the 
Mohammedans  were  laying  waste  Catalonia.  To  repel  them  he 
demanded  troops  from  the  emperor,  but  Charles  could  spare  none 
and  merely  advised  him  to  return  and  oppose  them  with  all  his  might. 
Being  thus  disappointed  in  the  royal  aid,  and  seeing  that  the  whole 
means  of  resistance  were  to  be  furnished  by  himself  alone,  he 
is  said  to  have  required  that  if  through  his  unaided  arms  the  mis- 
believers should  be  expelled  from  Catalonia,  he  and  his  descendants 
in  perpetuity  should  enjoy  the  fief  independent  of  the  French 
sovereigns, — in  other  words,  the  uncontrolled  sovereignty  of  the 
province,— and  we  are  told  that  the  requj^st  was  granted. 

How  little  soever  of  this  relation  be  true,  it  is  certain  that 
Wifredo  the  W^arlike  entirely  cleared  Catalonia  of  the  infidels, 
and  that  from  this  time  the  province  began  to  show  little  respect 
for  the  feudal  rights  claimed  by  the  French  kings.  He  died  in 
912,  leaving  to  Miro,  his  eldest  son,  his  new  sovereignty,  com- 
prehending the  lordships  of  Barcelona,  Besalu,  Roussillon,  Gerona, 
Cerdana,  and  Urgel,  but  placing  over  the  last  another  of  his  sons, 
Suniario,  on  the  condition  of  faith  and  homage  to  Aliro.  A  third 
son  professed  in  the  monastery  of  Ripol  and  was  afterwards 
bishop  of  Urgel. 

Of  Miro,  who  reigned  about  sixteen  years,  history  is  wholly 
silent.  In  his  last  testament  he  fell  into  the  usual  impolicy  of  the  age, 
— of  dividing  his  dominions  among  his  sons.  To  Seniofredo,  the 
eldest,   he  left   Barcelona;  to   Oliva,   Cerdana;  and   to   Miro,   the 


BARCELONA  225 

928-1089 

youngest,  Gerona.  As  the  three  princes  were  too  young  to  govern, 
he  confided  the  regency  of  the  three  states  to  his  uncle  Suniario,^ 
count  of  Urgel. 

Of  Seniofredo  little  more  is  known.  He  did  not  assume  the 
sovereignty  until  950 ;  perhaps  the  uncle  was  too  fond  of  power  to 
resign  it  until  necessity  demanded  the  sacrifice.  He  is  represented 
as  a  prince  of  great  devotion.  In  963  he  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
visit  the  tombs  of  the  apostles  Peter  and  Paul  at  Rome.  In  967 
he  died  without  issue,  leaving  his  lordship  to  his  cousin  Borello, 
son  of  Suniario,  count  of  Urgel. 

Borello  was  not  permitted  to  exercise  so  peaceful  a  sovereignty 
as  his  two  immediate  predecessors.  In  984  he  began  to  tremble 
at  the  prowess  of  the  formidable  Almansor,  who  appeared  intent 
on  reducing  all  Spain  to  the  Mohammedan  yoke.  After  a  destruc- 
tive course  through  the  states  of  Leon  and  Castile  this  great 
general  entered  Catalonia.  Near  Moncada  he  annihilated  the  little 
army  of  Borello,  who  with  difficulty  escaped  to  the  mountains  of 
Manresa.  The  victor  now  marched  on  Barcelona,  which  he  speedily 
stormed,  and  demon  like,  not  only  butchered  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants,  but  destroyed  by  fire  a  great  part  of  the  town.  Though 
the  count  was  not  present  to  defend  the  city,  the  preservation  of 
which  he  probably  considered  as  hopeless,  he  soon  issued  from  his 
mountain  refuge,  to  rescue  not  only  it,  but  Catalonia  from  the 
infidel  grasp.  To  form  a  considerable  body  of  cavalry,  he  caused 
proclamation  to  be  made  that  all  horsemen  who  aided  him  with 
lance  and  sword  should  enjoy  the  privileges  of  nol:)les.  He  now 
marched  on  Barcelona,  in  which  Almansor  had  left  a  garrison, 
and  which  he  speedily  recovered.  Of  his  subsequent  actions  no 
record  remains.  We  only  hear,  in  general  terms,  that  he  labored 
to  repair  the  disasters  inflicted  by  the  Mohammedans,  whom  he 
at  length  succeeded  in  expelling  from  the  province. 

Of  Raymundo  I.,  the  eldest  son  of  Borello,  history  is  almost 
silent.  In  the  tenth  year  of  his  government,  Catalonia  being  again 
invaded  by  the  misbelievers,  he  and  his  brother  Ermengaudo,  count 
of  Urgel,  made  a  noble  stand  against  them.  In  1089  both  armed 
in  behalf  of  the  usurper  Mohammed,  king  of  Cordova,  against 
Solyman,  the  Berber  chief,  whom  his  own  troops  had  declared 
king.  In  a  battle  which  took  place  about  ten  leagues  from  Cordova, 
Ermengaudo  and  tlirec  Catalonian  bishops  (of  Barcelona,  Vique, 
and    Gerona)     fell    mortally    wounded,    but    in    the    end    victory 


226  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1017-1081 

declared  for  Raymundo  and  his  allies — a  victory  which  placed 
Mohammed  on  a  slippery  throne.  This  campaign  added  to  the 
martial  fame  of  Raymundo,  and  caused  his  name  to  be  held  in 
respect  by  the  princes  who  were  now  fiercely  contending  for  the 
fragments  of  the  ruined  empire  of  Abderahman.     He  died  in  1017. 

Berengario  I.  is  still  more  summarily  dismissed  by  the  meager 
chroniclers  of  the  province.  By  the  monk  of  Ripol  he  is  charac- 
terized as  one  who  performed  nothing  worthy  of  mention,  and  who 
was  in  every  way  inferior  to  his  father.    He  died  in  1035. 

Raymundo  IT.  was  a  prince  of  much  more  vigor  than  his 
father.  His  victories  over  the  Moorish  king  of  Saragossa  made 
his  name  renowned  throughout  all  Spain,  By  the  same  monk  of 
Ripol,  twelve  Mohammedan  kings  are  said  to  have  been  tributary 
to  him.  The  districts  which  he  conquered  he  divided  among  his 
barons  and  knights,  to  be  held  by  the  usual  feudal  tenure.  He  was 
the  first  sovereign  of  all  Catalonia. 

But  the  sovereignty  of  Raymundo  was  not  confined  to  Cata- 
lonia or  his  conquests  in  Aragon ;  he  obtained  considerable  pos- 
sessions beyond  the  Pyrenees,  through  his  marriage  with  Almodis, 
daughter  of  the  count  de  la  Marche  Limosine.  The  sovereignty 
of  Carcassonne  was  conferred  on  his  son  Raymundo,  who  assumed 
the  title  of  count.  The  young  prince  became  exceedingly  popular 
among  his  new  subjects,  who  flocked  to  his  standard  whenever  his 
state  was  invaded  by  the  count  de  Foix,  who,  in  virtue  of  a  rela- 
tionship with  the  ancient  house  of  Carcassonne,  laid  claim  to  the 
rights  whicli  Raymundo  enjoyed.  Though  not  the  oldest,  Ray- 
mundo was  the  best  beloved  son  of  the  count  of  Barcelona  and 
the  destined  heir  to  that  sovereignty.  Raymundo  H.  died  in  1077, 
during  the  festivities  consequent  on  the  marriage  of  his  favorite 
son  with  a  daughter  of  Robert  Guiscard,  count  of  Apulia. 

Raymundo  HI.,  surnamed  the  Hairy,  had  scarcely  grasped  the 
reins  of  government  when  he  was  exposed  to  the  intrigues  of 
his  elder  brother,  Berengario,  who  could  not  tamely  witness  his 
own  exclusion  from  the  rights  of  primogeniture.  The  two  brothers 
soon  regarded  each  other  as  enemies ;  the  efforts  of  some  courtly 
reptiles  added  to  their  animosity,  and  though  Raymundo,  in  the 
hope  of  procuring  peace,  abandoned  to  Berengario  the  tribute  paid 
by  the  Moorish  king  of  Saragossa,  deadly  hatred  took  possession 
of  tlic  latter.  Tn  to<St  the  princes  were  induced  to  give  hostages 
to  each  other  for  the  preservation  of  outward  peace.     But  the  hopes 


BARCELONA  227 

1081-1111 

of  the  Catalonians,  that  their  princes  would  combine  in  the  med- 
itated war  against  the  Mohammedans,  were  disappointed  by  the 
tragical  death  of  Raymundo,  who  was  assassinated  between  Bar- 
celona and  Gerona, — no  doubt  at  the  instigation  of  Berengario. 
The  fratricide  in  vain  endeavored  to  grasp  the  fruit  of  his  crime. 
After  a  long  struggle,  being  expelled  from  Catalonia  by  the  barons 
and  prelates,  who  espoused  the  interests  of  the  infant  son  of  Ray- 
mundo, and  stung  by  intolerable  remorse,  he  departed  on  a  pilgrim- 
age for  the  Holy  Land,  and  died  in  Jerusalem,  or  on  his  return. 

Of  Raymundo  IV.,  prior  to  his  reaching  his  majority,  we  hear 
nothing,  until  the  rebellion  of  a  vassal,  the  viscount  de  Carcassonne, 
brings  him  into  notice.  Bernard  Atto,  viscount  de  Beziers,  and 
on  the  maternal  side  descended  from  the  house  of  Carcassonne, 
seeing  the  troubles  in  Catalonia  consequent  on  the  murder  of  Ray- 
mundo TIL,  resolved  to  profit  by  them.  Arriving  in  Carcassonne, 
he  offered  to  the  inhabitants  to  defend  them  against  the  usurper 
Berengario,  and  all  other  enemies,  and  to  hold  the  lordship  as  the 
liege  vassal  of  young  Raymundo,  until  that  prince  reached  an  age 
fit  to  govern.  But  Bernard  had  no  intention  of  resigning  his 
usurped  power,  and  when  summoned,  in  1104,  by  Raymundo,  who 
had  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  to  fulfill  his  pledge,  he 
flatly  refused.  The  indignant  inhabitants — indignant  as  well 
through  his  maladministration  as  from  affection  to  the  memory  of 
Raymundo  III. — sent  a  deputation  to  Barcelona  to  do  homage  to 
the  new  count  as  their  only  lawful  sovereign.  They  did  more: 
they  took  up  arms  and  expelled  Bernard.  To  resume  the  lordship, 
he  solicited  and  obtained  the  aid  of  the  Count  de  Toulouse,  whose 
vassal  he  offered  to  become.  Carcassonne  was  soon  invested,  but 
the  inhabitants  having  received  some  succors  from  Count  Ray- 
mundo, resolved  to  hold  out.  The  wars  of  this  prince,  Raymundo, 
with  the  Mohammedans  had  hitherto  prevented  him  from  hasten- 
ing to  the  aid  of  his  oppressed  vassals,  but  in  mi  he  put  his  troops 
into  motion,  passed  the  Pyrenees,  and  marched  on  Carcassonne. 
Bernard  prepared  for  an  obstinate  defense.  The  city  had  again 
the  prospect  of  a  harassing  siege,  when  the  nobles  and  prelates 
of  the  lordship  proposed  terms  of  accommodation,  to  which  both 
parties  turned  a  favoraljle  ear.  Bernard  agreed  to  hold  the  country 
as  a  fief  of  Barcelona,  and  to  aid  Raymundo  in  all  his  wars  as 
became  a  good  vassal. 

The  people,  however,  continued  to  be  dissatisfied  witli  the  sue- 


228  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1108-1131 

cessfiil  viscount,  whose  exactions  pressed  heavily  upon  them,  and 
their  complaints  to  his  superior  of  Barcelona  were  both  loud  and 
frequent.  Again  did  they  expel  him  from  the  capital,  again  did 
he  return  with  troops  and  invest  it.  This  time  the  siege  continued 
three  years,  a  fact  sufficiently  indicative  of  their  deep-rooted  hos- 
tility to  him ;  nor  even,  when  reduced  to  extremities,  would  they 
consent  to  surrender  the  place  until  they  had  obtained  certain  con- 
ditions, of  which  the  observance  was  guaranteed  by  the  count  of 
Barcelona. 

During  this  rebellion  of  Bernard,  Raymundo  had  experienced 
no  slight  vexation  from  the  Mohammedan  arms.  In  1108  they 
had  laid  waste  most  of  Catalonia,  but  Raymundo  succeeded  in 
clearing  the  province  of  the  misbelievers.  His  power  daily  in- 
creased. In  mi  the  lordship  of  Besalu  devolved  to  him  by 
inheritance;  in  11 12  he  married  the  only  daughter  and  heiress  of 
Gilbert,  count  of  Provence,  to  whose  estates  he  soon  succeeded; 
in  1 1 17  the  fief  of  Cerdafia  reverted  to  him  by  the  death  of  the 
hereditary  owner  without  heirs.  But  for  much  of  his  prosperity 
he  was  no  less  indebted  to  his  arms  than  to  his  good  fortune.  In 
1 1 16  he  hired  a  fleet  for  the  conquest  of  Majorca,  on  which  he 
embarked  a  considerable  body  of  troops,  furnished  him  by  his 
vassals  both  of  Catalonia  and  southern  France.  This  fleet  was 
chiefly  supported  by  the  maritime  states  of  Pisa  and  Genoa,  at  the 
request  of  Pope  Pascal  II.  Of  all  the  exploits  of  Raymundo,  this 
was  the  most  useful,  as  the  Balearic  Isles,  ever  since  the  decline 
of  the  kingdom  of  Cordova,  had  been  the  retreat  of  Mohammedan 
pirates,  whose  extirpation  both  policy  and  humanity  demanded. 
The  expedition  was  crowned  with  complete  success,  though  that 
success  was  stained  by  the  indiscriminate  carnage  made  of  the 
inhabitants, — of  women  and  children,  and  the  aged  as  well  as  the 
armed  men.     This  conquest,  however,  was  not  enduring. 

Raymundo  died  in  1131.  In  his  last  illness  he  assumed  the 
habit  of  the  Templars.  He  left  two  sons:  Raymundo,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  in  Catalonia,  and  Berengario,  who  inherited  Provence. 

Raymundo  V.  was  a  prince  well  fitted  to  tread  in  the  steps 
of  his  father.  He  wisely  preserved  a  good  understanding  with 
Alfonso  the  emperor,  who  had  married  his  sister  and  whom  he 
acknowledged  as  his  liege  lord;  and  still  more  wisely  did  he  solicit 
the  hand  df  Dona  ]\'tronilla,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Ramiro  the 
monk,  king  of  Aragon.     At  first,  indeed,  Ramiro  was  more  inclined 


BARCELONA  229 

1131-1137 

to  bestow  the  princess  on  the  eldest  son  of  Alfonso,  and  thereby  lay 
a  foundation  for  the  union  of  the  two  crowns;  but  the  Aragonese 
opposed  their  union  with  Castile  and  Leon, — in  other  words,  their 
extinction  as  a  nation, — and  declared  for  the  count  of  Barcelona, 
whose  valor  was  already  well  known  in  Spain.     The  king  was  easily 


induced  to  approve  the  match;  in  1137  it  was  arranged  at  Bal- 
bastro,  in  an  assembly  of  the  states.  Raymundo  was  there  affianced 
with  the  princess  and  declared  heir  to  the  throne,  even  if  she  died 
before  arriving  at  a  marriageable  age.  Ramiro  resigned  the  royal 
dignity  in  favor  of  his  son-in-law  and  retired  to  the  cloister. 
From  this  moment  until  his  death  Raymundo  governed  Aragon 
with  supreme  authority,  and  Catalonia  became  inseparably  united 
with  that  kingdom,  or.  rather,  merged  in  it.  His  administration 
and  warlike  exploits  will  be  found  in  the  next  chapter. 


Chapter  XII 

KINGDOM    OF    ARAGON.     1035-1516 

THE  origin  and  early  history  of  Aragon  being  the  same 
with  that  of  Navarre,  on  which  it  was  long  dependent, 
need  not  be  investigated  here.  The  statements  of  writers 
who  contend  for  the  fabulous  kingdom  of  Sobrarbe,  the  root  of 
both,  sovereignties;  of  those  who  assign  the  origin  of  both  to 
Garcia  Ximenes,  in  716,  or  of  Aragon,  in  the  ninth  century,  to  the 
Navarrese  Inigo  Arista,  are  not  worth  the  trouble  of  refutation, 
since  they  rest  on  wholly  monastic  documents  known  to  be 
apocryphal.  The  series  of  counts,  beginning  with  Aznar  or  Asina- 
rius,  is  not  less  fabulous  than  that  of  the  kings.  Undoubtedly 
there  were  local  governors  with  that  title  at  an  early  period,  who, 
prior  to  the  establishment  of  the  Navarrese  monarchy,  were  depend- 
ent either  on  the  Asturian  kings  or  on  the  Mohammedans  of 
Aragon.  Whether  they  were  natives  or  Arabians,  Christians  or 
Mussulmans    can  never  be  determined. 

In  the  time  of  Sancho  el  Mayor  the  lordship  of  Aragon 
formed  only  an  inconsiderable  angle  of  the  present  country  of  that 
name,  comprising  the  northwestern  extremity,  and  bounded  by 
a  line  drawn  from  the  Pyrenees  above  Jaca,  passing  somewhat 
west  of  that  city  by  San  Juan  de  la  Peha  and  diverging  westwards 
to  the  Val  de  Anso,  near  the  banks  of  the  River  Aragon.  It  com- 
prehended the  most  eastern  portion  of  territory  inhabited  by  the 
ancient  Vascones,  and  this  reason  gives  some  countenance  to  the 
hypothesis  that  it  followed  the  fate  of  Vasconia; — that  from  the 
reign  of  Alfonso  I.  it  obeyed  the  Asturian  kings.  Notwithstanding 
the  contiguity  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  Mohammedan  possessions 
of  Jaca,  TTuesca,  and  Saragossa,  their  position  amidst  the  fastnesses 
of  the  Pyrenees  might  secure  them  against  the  attacks  of  the  mis- 
believers. However  this  be,  certain  it  is  that  the  date  of  Aragonese 
independence  must  be  assigned  to  T035,  the  period  when  Sancho 
el  Mayor  divided  his  states  among  his  sons,  and  when,  as  before 
related,  Aragon  fell  to  Ramiro. 

230 


A  R  A  G  O  N  231 

1035-1076 

Ramiro  I.  was  no  sooner  in  possession  of  the  throne  than,  in 
concert  with  the  Moorish  kings  of  Saragossa,  Tudela  and  Huesca, 
he  invaded  the  dominions  of  his  brother  Garcia,  then  absent  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome.  While  pressing  the  siege  of  Tafalla  the 
royal  devotee  returned,  vanquished,  and  expelled  him  from  his  new 
conquests.  During  Garcia's  life  the  war  was  as  frequently- 
renewed,  but  its  progress  was  desultory  and  its  issue  indecisive. 
Not  so  Ramiro's  wars  with  the  Mohammedans,  since  he  extended 
his  sway  along  the  southern  base  of  the  Pyrenees,  over  the  lord- 
ships of  Sobrarbe,  Ribagorza,  and  a  great  part  of  Pallas.  The 
kings,  too,  of  Tudela,  Saragossa,  and  Lerida  were  his  tributaries. 
In  1060  he  convoked  a  council  at  Jaca,  but  scarcely  had 
the  ecclesiastics  separated,  when  Sancho  of  Castile  appeared 
before  Saragossa  with  a  numerous  army  and  forced  the  Moham- 
medans to  do  him  homage,  on  the  ground  that  his  father,  Fer- 
dinand, had  been  recognized  as  lord  paramount  over  that  state. 
Highly  indignant  at  this  irruption,  Ramiro,  who  was  then  pressing 
the  siege  of  Grado  in  Ribagorza,  advanced  against  the  invader: 
in  the  battle  which  immediately  ensued  he  was  vanquished  and 
slain.  This  tragical  event  happened  in  the  year  1063,  in  the 
month  of  May. 

Sancho  I.  (Ramirez)  was  no  less  successful  than  his  father 
in  warring  against  the  Mohammedans,  who,  after  the  catastrophe 
just  related,  had  fortified  Huesca  and  Balbastro  and  set  their 
Christian  masters  at  defiance.  Having  joined  his  forces  with  those 
of  Ermengaudo,  count  of  Urgel,  he  invested  Balbastro.  Though 
during  the  siege  he  lost  this  courageous  ally,  and  though  the  Mo- 
hammedan kings  sent  powerful  detachments  to  relieve  it,  in  1065 
he  forced  the  place  to  surrender  and  converted  it  into  a  bishop's 
see.  To  protect  his  kingdom  against  the  incursions  of  his  natural 
enemy,  he  erected  several  fortresses  along  the  southern  frontier, 
and  by  his  subsequent  irruptions  into  the  hostile  territory  inflicted 
great  injury  on  the  Mohammedans.  Tt  was  doubtless  owing  as 
much  to  his  military  fame  as  to  the  contiguity  of  his  state  that 
on  the  tragical  death  of  Sancho  HI.  of  Navarre,  in  1076,  he  was 
elected  king  of  that  country. 

During  the  following  years  of  his  reign  Don  Sancho  steadily 
pursued  his  great  object, — the  extension  of  his  boundary  at  the 
expense  of  the  misbelievers.  Having  reduced  one  by  one  the 
I^.Ioliammedan    fortresses    between    the    Pyrenees    and    the    Cinca, 


232  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1089-1096 

in  1089  he  invested  Monzon,  a  place  strong  alike  by  nature  and  art, 
and  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  that  river.  After  a  siege  of 
some  weeks  it  fell  into  his  power.  Huesca  itself,  being  now  the 
only  considerable  city  from  the  Pyrenees  to  the  Ebro  and  from 
Navarre  to  the  Cinca  which  defied  his  power,  in  1094  he  invested 
that  formidable  place.  The  siege  was  pressed  with  vigor;  but  one 
day  having  approached  too  near  the  walls  with  the  view  of  recon- 
noitering,  while  raising  his  hand  to  show  a  point  where  the  assault 
might  be  made,  he  was  mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow  in  his  right 
side,  which  the  action  exposed.  Being  carried  to  his  tent,  he 
exacted  an  oath  from  his  two  sons,  Pedro  and  Alfonso,  that  they 
would  not  raise  the  siege,  but  remain  before  the  place  until  it  capit- 
ulated or  was  taken  by  storm.  Having  received  the  necessary 
sacraments,  he  himself  drew  the  arrow  from  the  wound  and 
breathed  his  last. 

Pedro  I.,  the  eldest  son  of  the  deceased  king,  was  immediately 
proclaimed  in  the  camp.  According  to  Rodrigo  of  Toledo,  the 
siege  was  continued  without  intermission  and  the  place  reduced 
in  six  months.  As  Abderahman,  the  Moorish  king  of  Huesca, 
obtained  promises  of  aid  both  from  the  neighboring  king  of  Sar- 
agossa  and  from  King  Alfonso  of  Leon  and  Castile,  Pedro  appears 
to  have  left  his  troops  before  the  place  and  hurried  over  his  domin- 
ions to  press  the  march  of  reinforcements.  On  his  return  with  a 
considerable  force  he  had  reason  to  congratulate  himself  on  his 
precaution ;  the  king  of  Saragossa,  at  the  head  of  a  great  army, 
and  the  Christian  count  of  Najera,  Alfonso's  vassal,  with  a  brave 
body  of  Castilians,  were  in  motion.  On  the  eve  of  the  battle  the 
Christian  count  is  said  to  have  entreated  him  to  retire  from  the 
city,  as  resistance  to  such  a  force  was  hopeless.  But  he  boldly 
advanced  to  the  attack,  which  on  both  sides  was  impetuous  and 
which  raged  during  many  hours, — until  the  count  of  Najera  was 
taken  prisoner,  perhaps  also  till  night  separated  the  combatants. 
Under  cover  of  the  darkness  the  Moors  fled  with  precipitation. 
The  number  of  slain  was  prodigious ;  the  following  morning  it  was 
increased  by  a  hot  pursuit,  which  was  continued  as  far  as  Almu- 
devar.  This  great  battle  was  fought  in  November,  1096,  in  the 
plain  of  Alcoraz,  not  far  from  Huesca.  It  was  followed  by  the  sur- 
render of  that  important  city,  and,  consequently,  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  Mohammedan  power  between  the  Ebro,  the 
Cinca,   and   the    Pyrenees.      Some   fortresses   they   still   possessed 


A  R  A  G  O  N  233 

1104-1128 

east  of  that  river,  but  they  had  no  longer  the  means  of  combined 
defense.     The  victor  died  in  1104. 

Alfonso  L,  brother  of  the  deceased  Pedro,  who  now  succeeded 
to  the  thrones  of  Aragon  and  Navarre,  was  of  a  genius  even  more 
military  than  his  predecessors.  Unfortunately  for  the  interests 
of  his  kingdom  and  of  his  own  fame,  his  marriage  with  an  un- 
principled woman,  Urraca,  daughter  of  Alfonso  of  Leon  and  Cas- 
tile, and  the  dissensions  to  which  that  marriage  gave  rise,  long 
averted  the  destruction  of  his  misbelieving  enemies. 

Alfonso  began  his  career  of  conquest  by  the  reduction  of 
such  places  north  of  the  Ebro  as  were  still  occupied  by  tlie  Mo- 
hammedans. While  pursuing  his  conquests  around  the  capital, 
and  circumscribing  the  dominions  of  the  Mohammedan  king  to 
the  walls  of  that  city,  he  was  also  collecting  troops  from  Bearne 
and  Gascony  as  well  as  from  his  own  states.  Having  routed  and 
slain  Mezdeli,  the  wali  of  Granada,  and  defeated  the  generals  of 
the  Almoravides,  among  whom  was  Temin,  brother  of  the  Emperor 
Ali,  in  the  spring  of  11 18  he  vigorously  assailed  Saragossa,  but 
it  was  valiantly  defended,  and  the  assaults  were  repulsed  with 
some  loss.  In  consternation  at  the  evident  firmness  of  his  purpose, 
the  besieged  implored  the  aid  of  their  brethren  of  Tortosa,  Va- 
lencia, and  even  Andalusia.  In  vain :  he  prevented  the  arrival  of 
reinforcements,  and  at  length  compelled  the  city  to  surrender.  The 
following  year  he  made  it  the  capital  of  his  kingdom. 

This  great  hero  was  far  from  being  satisfied  with  these  im- 
portant successes.  In  11 20  he  overthrew,  near  Daroca,  an  amazing 
force  of  the  Almoravides,  leaving  20,000  dead  on  the  field.  The  same 
year  he  reduced  Taragona,  and  many  other  fortresses  in  its  neigh- 
borhood ;  he  next  obtained  Calatayud,  one  of  the  most  important 
cities  south  of  the  Ebro.  Its  fall,  as  well  as  the  terror  of  his  recent 
victory,  occasioned  the  surrender  of  all  the  fortified  places  on  the 
banks  of  the  Xalon,  among  which  was  Daroca.  Almost  every  year 
continued  to  witness  his  success.  Thougli  he  assailed  Lerida  in 
vain,  or  perhaps  spared  the  city  in  consideration  of  a  tribute,  he 
made  destructive  irruptions  into  Valencia  and  even  into  Andalusia. 
In  the  latter  province  he  was  joined  by  10,000  Christian  families, 
whose  ancestors  had  remained  under  the  Mohammedan  yoke  ever 
since  the  invasion  by  Tarik,  and  who  were  anxious — doubtless 
through  fear  of  the  consequences  that  might  follow  the  discovery 
of  their  secret  correspondence  with  him — to  settle  in  his  dominions. 


234  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1128-1134 

He  placed  them  in  the  conquests  which  he  had  won  from  the  Moors. 
In  1 128  he  obtained  another  glorious  victory  over  his  enemy  on 
the  confines  of  Valencia.  In  11 30,  too,  he  passed  the  Pyrenees 
from  Navarre  and  assailed  Bordeaux,  which,  after  a  long  siege 
he  reduced.  His  motive  for  this  act  of  hostility  was  probably  to 
punish  the  injuries  inflicted  by  the  duke  of  Aquitaine  on  the  count 
of  Bigorre,  and  his  other  allies  in  the  south  of  France.  His  absence 
encouraged  the  Mohammedans  of  Lerida,  Tortosa,  and  Valencia  to 
harass  his  frontiers,  they  even  defeating  two  of  his  generals. 

On  his  return  the  following  year  he  prepared  for  new  cam- 
paigns. In  1 1 33  he  invested  and  obtained  Mequinencia,  an  im- 
portant Moorish  fortress  on  the  confines  of  Catalonia  and  on  the 
jjanks  of  the  Ebro.  He  next  laid  siege  to  Fraga,  situated  on  the 
Cinca,  a  few  leagues  from  Mequinencia.  The  place  was  well 
defended,  both  by  art  and  the  valor  of  the  inhabitants.  The  inhab- 
itants now  proposed  terms  of  capitulation,  which  Alfonso,  incensed 
at  their  resistance,  indignantly  rejected.  Despair  urged  them  to 
new  efforts.  Owing  to  their  pressing  solicitations,  Aben  Gama, 
having  received  from  Africa  a  reinforcement  of  10,000  Almo- 
ravides,  and  collected  all  that  could  bear  arms  in  his  own  state, 
again  advanced  to  relieve  Fraga.  Though  the  Christian  king  had 
dispatched  a  strong  body  of  his  cavalry  in  search  of  provisions, 
and  though  he  was  greatly  inferior  in  numbers,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  accept  the  engagement.  It  was  long  and  desperately  continued, 
but  in  the  end  the  Christians  were  completely  defeated :  thousands 
of  the  Aragonese  lay  extended  on  the  plain.  Whether  the  king 
himself  fell  on  this  day,  as  is  affirmed,  or  whether,  as  we  are 
informed  by  another  contemporary,  he  fled  to  the  monastery  of 
San  Juan  de  la  Pena,  where  grief  in  a  few  days  put  a  period  to 
his  life,  is  doubtful.  After  the  battle  the  Moors  ravaged  the  sur- 
rounding country. 

Thus  fell  the  conqueror  of  Tudela,  Saragossa,  Tarragona, 
("al,-ita}-u(l,  Daroca,  Mequinencia,  and  most  of  the  counti";}^  south 
of  the  Ebro — the  victor  in  many  battles,  who,  from  his  warlike 
habits,  was  surnamed  cl  BattaJlador,  and,  from  the  extent  of  his 
sway  while  king  of  Leon  and  Castile,  cl  Empcnuior.  Spain  cannr)t 
boast  of  a  more  valiant  prince:  he  was  the  first,  since  the  conquest 
by  the  Arabs,  who  carried  the  Christian  ensigns  into  Andalusia. 

In  Ills  last  will,  made  some  time  previous  to  his  death.  Alfonso, 
who  had  no  issue,  liad  bequeathed  his  dominions  to  two  military  or- 


A  R  A  G  O  N  235 

1134-1157 

ders, — to  the  knights  of  St.  John  at  Jerusalem  and  to  the  Templars. 
But  neither  Navarre  nor  Aragon  paid  attention  to  this  disposition. 
The  nobles  of  both  kingdoms  having  met  to  choose  a  common  sov- 
ereign, unfortunately  disagreed  in  the  choice  and  separated :  at 
length  the  Aragonese  elected  the  brother  of  their  deceased  king, 
Ramiro  the  Monk,  whom  they  married  to  a  princess  of  Aquitaine; 
while  the  Navarrese,  no  less  desirous  to  restore  their  royal  house, 
elected  Garcia  Ramirez. 

Ramiro  II.  was  no  sooner  in  possession  of  the  throne  than  he 
was  visited  by  Alfonso  of  Leon,  whose  dubious  conduct  was  well 
calculated  to  alarm  him.  Being  at  length  rid  of  this  dangerous  ally, 
he  laid  claim  to  Navarre,  on  the  pretense  that  it  had  long  formed 
part  of  the  same  kingdom  and  could  not  be  dismembered;  and 
Garcia  no  less  actively  armed  to  assert  his  right  to  Aragon.  A 
reconciliation  being  effected,  both  kings  were  at  liberty  to  pursue 
other  objects.  Garcia  seems  to  have  hoped  that  as  his  rival  was 
old,  he  should  succeed,  in  default  of  heirs,  to  the  sister  kingdom ; 
but  before  the  expiration  of  the  year  the  queen  of  Aragon  was  de- 
livered of  the  Princess  Petronilla,  It  was  probably  through  disgust 
with  the  never-ceasing  pretensions  of  Garcia,  as  well  as  from  con- 
science which  stung  him  for  breaking  his  vows,  that,  in  tlie  third 
year  of  his  reign,  he  resolved  to  marry  his  infant  daughter,  resign 
his  dignity  to  his  son-in-law,  and  return  to  the  cloister.  The 
choice,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter,  fell  on  Raymundo,  count  of 
Barcelona,  who,  under  the  title  of  prince  of  Aragon,  entered  on 
the  supreme  government  of  the  kingdom.  Whether  Ramiro  con- 
tinued to  be  styled  king  until  his  death,  in  1157,  is  doubtful,  but 
that  his  daugliter  is  frequently  styled  sovereign,  and  that  Ray- 
mundo never  assumed  the  regal  title,  are  clear  from  ancient  docu- 
ments. 

Meanwhile  in  1 140  the  grand  master  of  the  Templars  had  ar- 
rived in  Spain  to  claim  the  kingdom  in  virtue  of  the  testament 
made  by  King  Alfonso.  The  modesty  of  the  demand  roused  the 
wrath  of  the  people.  As,  however,  the  chief  nobles  of  Aragon  had 
sworn  to  enforce  its  observance,  and  as  the  poor  grand  master 
had  undertaken  a  long  and  perilous  voyage  to  vindicate  the  rights 
of  the  order,  he  and  Raymund(5  at  length  agreed  that  the  absurd 
claim  should  be  abandoned,  and  that,  in  lieu  of  it,  the  knights  should 
receive  ample  domains  in  Aragon,  on  the  tenure  of  military  service 
against  the  misbelievers. 


236  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1140-1173 

As  Raymundo  was  brother-in-law  to  Alfonso,  he  had  little 
difficulty  in  obtaining  from  that  emperor  the  restitution  of  some 
places  in  Aragon  still  held  by  the  Castilian  troops,  under  the  condi- 
tion, however,  of  homage.  Like  Ramiro,  he  also  aspired  to  the 
incorporation  of  Navarre  with  his  kingdom,  but  without  success, 
h'inding  that  his  own  force  was  insufficient  to  contend  with  so 
warlike  a  prince  as  Don  Garcia,  he  entered  into  an  alliance  with 
the  Lmperor  Alfonso,  the  iniquitous  object  of  which  was  a 
partition  of  the  Navarrese  dominions.  But  while  Alfonso  was 
investing  Pamplona,  Raymundo,  in  1140,  was  signally  defeated 
by  the  Navarrese  king.  In  his  hostile  irruptions,  during  the  follow- 
ing years,  he  was  equally  unsuccessful.  In  1 146,  through  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Emperor  Alfonso,  both  princes  agreed  to  suspend 
their  quarrels  and  aid  their  ally  of  Leon  and  Castile  in  warring 
against  the  Mohammedans.  All  three  were  present  at  the  siege 
and  reduction  of  Baeza  and  Almeria.  These  important  conquests, 
which  were  the  right  of  Alfonso,  appeared  to  have  excited  the  emula- 
ti(jn  of  Raymundo.  The  following  year  he  invested  and  took  the 
important  city  of  Tortosa :  for  the  success  of  this  enterprise  he  was 
considerably  indebted  to  his  new  subjects,  the  Templars,  and  to  the 
Genoese  fleet,  which  had  assisted  in  the  capture  of  Almeria.  Next 
Lerida  and  Fraga,  which  had  withstood  the  assaults  of  Alfonso  I., 
yielded  to  the  prince  of  Aragon.  Finally,  in  1 153,  he  had  the  glory 
to  free  all  Catalonia  from  the  Mohammedans. 

In  1 162  Raymundo  went  to  Turin  to  do  homage  in  person  for 
Provence,  which  he  had  received  as  a  fief  from  the  Emperor 
Frederic  Barbarossa.  But  death  surprised  him  within  a  few  leagues 
of  that  city.  His  administration  was  fortunate  for  Aragon,  the 
interests  of  which  he  zealously  advanced.  In  his  last  will  he  left 
both  it  and  the  lordship  of  Barcelona  to  his  eldest  son  Alfonso,  to 
his  second  son  Pedro  the  lordship  of  Cerdaha  and  Narbonensian 
Gaul.  In  1 1 63  Petronilla  resigned  her  regal  title  to  her  son, 
though  she  lived  until  1173. 

Alfonso  IT.  took  possession  of  the  government  at  a  tender  age, 
for  which  reason  the  first  three  years  of  his  reign  are  barren  of 
events.  In  1167,  on  the  death  of  his  cousin,  the  count  of  Provence, 
to  whom  his  father  had  granted  that  fief  in  perpetuity,  he  reunited 
tliat  lordship  to  Aragon,  and  he  soon  succeeded  by  inheritance  to 
lliat  oi  Roussilhjn.  1  le  was  no  less  ambitious  to  extend  his  domin- 
ion by  c(ni(iucst  over  tlie  Moors.     From  1 168  to  a  few  years  before 


A  R  A  G  O  N  237 

1177-1206 

his  death  he  gained  several  fortresses  south  of  the  Ebro  lying 
towards  the  Valentian  frontier  from  the  enemy.  Of  these  the  most 
important  was  Teruel.  In  ii  77  he  assisted  Alfonso  IX.  of  Castile, 
whose  niece  he  had  married,  to  reduce  Cuenza.  That  he  obtained 
no  further  successes  over  the  Africans  must  be  attributed  partly  to 
the  unfortunate  defeat  of  the  Castilian  king  at  Alarcos,  and  partly 
to  his  own  dissensions  with  the  king  of  Navarre.  He  did  not  long 
survive  that  defeat.  He  died  in  1 196,  leaving  Aragon,  Catalonia, 
and  Roussillon  to  his  eldest  son  Pedro,  and  Provence  to  the  second 
son  Alfonso.  In  his  reign  the  Spanish  era  w'as  suppressed  in  Cata- 
lonia and  the  Christian  substituted.  This  country  was  the  first 
in  Spain  to  set  the  example. 

Pedro  II.,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign,  had  some  disputes  with 
his  mother  respecting  some  fortresses  left  to  her  as  a  dowry  by  the 
late  king.  In  1203  he  embarked  for  Rome  to  be  crowned  by  the 
pope.  On  this  occasion  he  not  only  did  homage  as  a  feudatory  of 
the  church,  but  by  a  public  instrument  engaged  that  Aragon  should 
forever  remain  a  fief  of  the  Holy  See,  and  be  considered  the  property 
of  the  successors  of  St.  Peter.  In  1205  the  states  assembled  at 
Saragossa  protested  against  the  act,  as  derogatory  to  the  honor 
of  the  nation,  as  injurious  to  the  people,  and,  consequently,  as  re- 
maining without  effect. 

In  1204  Pedro  married  Maria,  daughter  and  heiress  of  the 
Count  de  Montpellier.  Whether  through  dissatisfaction  with  his 
conduct  towards  his  bride,  which  is  represented  as  unjustifiable,  or 
through  his  disregard  of  their  privileges,  the  people  of  that  lordship 
refused,  in  1205,  to  admit  him  within  their  capital.  Incensed  at 
their  disrespect,  the  following  year  he  applied  to  the  pope  for  a  dis- 
solution of  his  marriage  (probably  it  had  not  then  been  consum- 
mated) ;  but  it  does  not  seem  that  his  application  was  well  received. 
If  even  he  had  canonical  grounds  for  it,  he  appears  to  have  soon 
abandoned  them,  for  in  1207,  or  in  1208,  his  queen  w^as  delivered 
at  Montpellier  of  a  son — 'afterwards  the  famous  Don  Jayme  el 
Conquistador.  But  the  birth  of  a  son  did  not  diminish  the  hatred 
of  Pedro  nor  prevent  him,  at  a  subsequent  period,  from  resuming 
his  application  to  the  papal  court ;  but  Innocent,  after  a  patient  ex- 
amination of  the  grounds  on  which  it  was  made,  refused  to  grant 
him  the  relief  he  solicited. 

Like  his  predecessors,  Pedro  was  frequently  at  war  with  the 
floors.     In  1206  he  took  the  important  fortress  of  ^Montalvan.     He 


238  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1212-1213 

had  also  the  g'lory  of  assisting  in  the  campaign  of  12 12  against  the 
emperor  of  Morocco,  and  of  contributing  to  the  defeat  of  the  Moors 
on  the  immortal  plains  of  Tolosa. 

But  if  the  king  of  Aragon  was  thus  valiant  against  the  enemies 
of  Christianity,  he  did  not  exhibit  equal  zeal  against  the  Albigenses, 
who  were  now  exceedingly  numerous  in  the  south  of  France,  es- 
pecially in  his  French  domains.  In  the  crusade  headed  by  the 
famous  Simon  de  Montfort  he  afforded  no  aid  to  the  Catholic 
cause,  though  he  frequently  and  fruitlessly  interfered  to  reconcile 
the  chiefs  of  the  two  parties.  In  121 1,  being  at  Montpellier,  he  was 
reluctantly  persuaded  not  only  to  receive  the  viscount's  homage,  but 
to  sanction  the  proposal  of  a  marriage  between  his  son  Jayme  and  a 
daughter  of  Simon ;  he  even  delivered  the  young  prince  into  the 
hands  of  the  viscount,  both  as  a  pledge  of  his  sincerity  and  that  the 
infante  might  be  educated  according  to  the  manner  of  the  times 
under  so  renowned  a  leader.  But  that  sincerity  was  suspected 
by  the  crusaders,  when,  on  his  return  to  Aragon,  he  gave  one  of  his 
sisters  in  marriage  to  the  count  of  Toulouse,  the  head  of  the  Albi- 
genses,— the  more  still  when  he  married  another  to  the  son  of  that 
baron. 

After  the  campaign  immortalized  by  the  victory  of  Las  Navas 
de  Tolosa,  Pedro  was  urgently  pressed  by  his  brother-in-law  and 
by  his  relatives  the  counts  of  Beam  and  Foix,  all  protectors  of  the 
Albigenses,  to  arm  in  their  behalf.  Though  he  had  some  reason 
to  be  dissatisfied  with  the  crusaders,  who  had  seized  several  for- 
tresses belonging  to  the  appanage  of  his  sisters  and  had  shaken  his 
own  domination  in  France,  and  though  he  now  passed  the  Pyrenees 
with  a  considerable  arni}^,  his  object  was  rather  to  act  as  a  mediator 
than  as  a  belligerent.  At  the  head  of  a  great  combined  army  of 
Aragonese,  Catalonians,  and  French  he  advanced  against  Muret,  a 
fortified  town  on  the  Garonne,  about  two  leagues  from  Toulouse. 
The  besieged  soon  acquainted  the  Count  de  Montfort  with  their 
situation  and  implored  relief.  The  latter,  who  was  then  at  Saver- 
dun,  within  a  few  miles  of  Aluret,  then  marched  to  the  besieged 
I)lacc,  forrccl  the  lines,  and  threw  himself  into  it.  On  the  morning 
of  September  12  the  crusaders  prepared  for  battle.  The  little 
army  tlien  issued  from  the  gates  and  the  struggle  commenced.  The 
van,  headed  by  the  count  de  Foix,  was  soon  dispersed.  Montfort 
now  hastened  to  tlie  place  where  he  perceived  the  floating  standard 
of  Aragon,  kntnving  that  he  should  there  find  the  king.      Pedro 


A  R  A  G  O  N  239 

1213-1218 

manfully  defended  himself,  but  he  was  soon  overpowered  by  the 
furious  charge  of  the  crusaders,  and  he  fell  among  a  heap  of  slain. 
The  victors  inflicted  a  horrible  carnage  among  the  fugitives,  show- 
ing mercy  to  none.  The  royal  corpse  was  discovered  and  buried 
with  suitable  honors  by  the  Templars. 

As  Jayme  I.,  the  most  celebrated  sovereign  in  the  ancient  an- 
nals of  Aragon,  was  only  six  years  of  age  on  his  father's  death,  trou- 
bles could  not  fail  to  distract  his  minority.  At  first  Simon  de  Mont- 
fort  refused  to  surrender  him  to  his  subjects — doubtless  through  fear 
of  losing  a  royal  husband  for  his  daughter ;  but  the  pope,  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Aragonese  nobles,  interfered,  and  commanded  the  vic- 
tor to  deliver  the  infant  into  the  hands  of  the  Cardinal  Pietro  de 
Mora.  The  count  reluctantly  obeyed,  especially  as  he  perceived  the 
Aragonese  were  arming  in  good  earnest  to  recover  their  prince. 
The  administration  of  the  kingdom  during  his  minority  rested  in 
his  uncle,  Don  Sancho,  count  of  Roussillon,  assisted  by  two  col- 
leagues,— one  for  the  affairs  of  Aragon,  the  other  for  those  of  Cata- 
lonia. The  choice  of  Sancho  was  the  very  worst  that  could  have 
been  made :  he  was  known  to  have  aspired  openly  to  the  crown.  He 
soon  renewed  his  attempts  to  procure  his  nephew's  exclusion.  The 
party  increased  so  rapidly  that  the  grand  master  of  the  young  prince, 
alarmed  for  his  ward,  consulted  with  the  stanch  adherents  of  royalty, 
and  the  result  was  a  resolution  to  convoke,  at  Monzon,  a  general 
meeting  of  the  states.  At  the  time  ai)pointed  (September,  12 16), 
some  prelates,  barons,  and  many  deputies  assembled,  and  did 
homage  to  Jayme  as  king  of  Aragon  and  count  of  Barcelona.  No 
sooner  was  Sancho  acquainted  with  this  proceeding  than  he  began 
to  raise  troops,  with  the  undisguised  view  of  forcibly  seizing  the 
crown.  As  the  castle  of  ]\Ionzon  was  justly  considered  too  insecure 
a  residence  for  the  young  king,  his  loyal  barons  conducted  him  first 
to  Huesca  and  then  to  Saragossa,  where  he  was  joyfully  received 
by  tlie  people.  This  step  and  the  unpopularity  of  his  government, 
which  is  represented  as  rapacious,  seems  to  have  disconcerted  the 
vehd  uncle,  who  now  wished  to  secure,  as  long  as  possible,  the  con- 
tinuance of  his  power.  But  the  year  following  (1218),  in  an  as- 
sembly of  the  states  at  Lerida.  he  was  persuaded  or  compelled  to 
resign  the  regency  in  consideration  of  ample  revenues  secured  to 
him  both  in  Aragt^n  and  Catalonia.  It  was  probably  as  much  with 
the  view  of  fortifying  their  young  monarch  by  the  alliance  of  Castile 
as  of  securing  an  heir  to  the  tlu'onc  that  his  counselors  now  married 


240  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1222-1228 

him  to  the  infanta  Leonora,  daughter  of  Alfonso  VIIL  and  sister 
of  the  Princess  Berengaria.  But  tranquihity  long  continued  a 
stranger  to  Aragon.  In  1222  two  barons  raised  troops  and  made 
war  on  each  other  with  as  much  ceremony  as  greater  potentates. 
The  king  himself,  for  some  time,  was  but  a  machine  in  the  hands 
of  another  of  his  uncles,  Ferdinand,  whose  creatures  spied  all  his 
steps  and  indirectly  opposed  all  his  views.  One  day,  however,  he 
effected  his  escape  and  retired  to  Teruel,  where  he  assembled  his 
cavaliers  to  accompany  him  in  a  meditated  irruption  into  Valencia. 
Though  some  thousands  hastened  to  join  him,  and  he  laid  siege  to 
Pehiscola,  the  place  resisted  all  his  assaults.  One  good  effect, 
indeed,  resulted  from  his  preparations :  they  so  much  alarmed  the 
]\Iohammedan  governor  that  he  made  haste  to  acknowledge  Jayme 
as  his  liege  lord.  This  example  constrained  many  more,  and 
though  the  cities  of  Huesca,  Saragossa,  and  Jaca  for  a  time  held 
out,  they  ended  by  joining  the  royal  cause. 

Though  the  Balearic  Isles,  or  at  least  the  chief  of  those  isles, 
Majorca,  had  been  reduced  by  Raymundo  III.,  count  of  Barcelona, 
the  Mohammedan  pirates  had  regained  possession  of  them,  and  re- 
sumed their  savage  descents  on  the  coast  of  Catalonia.  Amidst 
the  troubles  which  had  recently  afflicted  the  kingdom  and  while 
destitute  of  a  fleet,  the  Aragonese  had  neither  the  inclination  nor 
the  means  to  think  of  the  reconquest.  The  Catalonians,  who  suf- 
fered most  by  the  pirates,  whose  ships  were  sometimes  captured  by 
them,  demanded  redress.  Pressing  solicitations  were  made  to 
Jayme  to  prepare  an  armament  for  the  destruction  of  these  piratical 
strongholds.  For  this  purpose,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1228,  he 
convoked  the  states  of  Barcelona,  in  which  the  expedition  was 
unanimously  decreed.  The  preparations  were  pushed  with  ardor, 
— the  crusade  was  proclaimed,  from  Genoa  and  Provence  a  fleet 
was  procured  to  transport  the  forces,  and  18,000  men  were  em- 
barked on  150  vessels.  After  a  tempestuous  passage,  which  made 
most  of  the  crusaders  repent  leaving  their  domestic  hearths,  the 
armament  appeared  off  the  port  of  Palmera.  In  utter  ignorance 
where  a  landing  might  be  most  safely  attempted,  and  where  the 
enemy  was  to  Ije  found,  the  king  at  first  hesitated  what  to  do.  He 
was  S(jon  released  from  his  anxiety  by  a  Aloorish  mariner,  who 
swam  towards  the  fleet  from  the  shore,  was  taken  on  board  the 
royal  vessel,  and  was  able  to  give  him  all  the  information  he  re- 
quired.     He  learned  that  the  islands  contained  42.000  men  capable 


A  R  A  G  O  N  S41 

1228-1234 

of  bearing  arms,  and  that  10,000  were  already  drawn  up  beyond 
a  mountain  which  appeared  in  sight;  as  succor  was  also  daily  ex- 
pected from  Tunis,  he  was  advised  to  land  without  delay.  The  dis- 
embarkation was  effected  at  midnight,  yet  not  without  opposition 
from  a  small  body  of  islanders  who  watched  the  operation  and  were 
easily  dispersed.  The  day  following,  as  the  Christians  advanced 
they  encountered  the  forces  of  the  Moorish  king,  ready  to  receive 
them.  The  battle  immediately  commenced  :  it  was  for  some  time  dis- 
puted with  equal  bravery,  but  reinforcements  arriving  in  aid  of  the 
islanders,  the  assailants  began  to  give  way.  The  capital  was  soon 
after  invested,  and  though  the  defense  was  obstinate,  the  assaults 
were  not  less  so.  The  city  was  taken  by  storm :  a  great  number 
of  the  besieged  fled  at  one  gate,  while  the  Christians  entered  at  an- 
other, the  Moorish  king  with  one  of  his  sons  being  taken  prisoner. 
The  victor,  having  purified  the  grand  mosque  and  confided  the  de- 
fense of  the  place  to  a  Christian  garrison,  returned  to  his  kingdom. 
As  Minorca  and  Iviga  were  still  in  possession  of  the  pirates,  in  1232 
Jayme  headed  other  expeditions.  Minorca  immediately  submitted, 
and  the  example  was  now  followed  by  the  mountaineers  of  Ma- 
jorca itself.  But  no  attempt  was  made  on  Iviga  until  1235,  when 
it  was  subdued  by  his  generals.  The  conquest,  which  was  now  per- 
fected, surrounded  the  name  of  Don  Jayme  with  glory,  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  one  of  much  greater  magnitude, — that  of 
Valencia. 

The  decline  of  the  empire  of  the  Almohades  and  the  successes 
obtained  by  Ferdinand  III.  over  the  princes  of  Andalusia  were 
sufficient  to  excite  the  emulation  of  so  enterprising  a  monarch  as 
Don  Jayme.  In  1232  he  convoked  his  states  at  Monzon  to  de- 
liberate on  the  invasion  of  Valencia.  The  project  was  approved, 
and  the  following  year  was  appointed  for  its  execution.  As  in  the 
case  of  ^Majorca,  a  crusade  was  solemnly  proclaimed,  and  early  in 
the  spring  of  1233  numbers  of  adventurers  from  Provence  and 
Narbonne  flocked  to  the  frontiers  of  Valencia.  The  campaign 
opened  by  the  siege  of  Buriana,  which,  after  a  gallant  defense,  sub- 
mitted. Its  fall  constrained  that  of  several  fortresses  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. In  1234  ]\Ioncada  was  rapidly  reduced.  During  the 
three  following  years  Jayme  seems  to  have  been  occupied  in  his 
preparations  for  the  entire  conquest  of  the  ^Moorish  kingdom  and 
capital;  though  his  generals  triumphed  in  one  action  at  least  over  a 
formidable  bodv  of  the  misbelievers,  lie  himself  did  not  take  the  field 


242  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1238-1247 

until  1238.  With  the  powerful  reinforcements  which  reached  him 
from  all  parts  Jayme  crossed  the  Guadalaviar,  seized  on  Ruzafa, 
where  he  entrenched  his  camp,  and  drew  his  lines  of  circumvallation 
around  the  city  of  Valencia,  A  Tunisian  fleet  soon  arrived  off  the 
coast,  but  seeing  the  place  so  closely  invested,  the  Mohammedans, 
in  despair  of  throwing  relief  into  the  city,  removed  to  sea.  The 
departure  of  this  long-expected  ally  was  the  deathblow  to  the  hopes 
of  the  king  of  Valencia,  especially  as  the  progress  of  the  siege  was 
rapid,  as  the  walls  were  much  shaken  by  the  battering-engines,  and 
as  provisions  began  to  fail.  He  now  demanded  a  safe  conduct  for 
his  nephew,  whom  he  sent  to  the  Christian  camp,  to  procure  favor- 
able terms  from  the  enemy.  Jayme  would  grant  no  other  than  a 
permission  to  the  inhabitants  to  retire  within  five  days  with  their 
movable  substance.  The  condition  was  a  hard  one,  but  it  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  Moorish  king,  who  at  the  command  of  the  Christian 
even  hoisted  the  standard  of  Aragon  on  the  towers  of  the  city.  On 
the  expiration  of  the  time  the  place  was  delivered  up  to  Don  Jayme, 
and  50,000  IMohammedans  with  the  king  left  its  walls  never  to  re- 
turn :  the  victor  triumphantly  entered,  was  present,  as  usual,  at  the 
purification  of  the  grand  mosque,  which  was  converted  into  a  cathe- 
dral ;  and,  as  usual  also,  the  deserted  houses  and  fields  were  divided 
among  the  soldiers. 

By  a  treaty  solemnly  made  between  Jayme  and  the  Moorish 
king  the  latter  was  guaranteed  in  the  possession  of  the  whole  coun- 
try south  of  the  Xucar;  but  scarcely  had  the  former  left  the  new 
conquest  than  the  grand  master  of  the  Templars  invested  and  took 
Cullera,  while  another  division  of  the  Aragonese  reduced  another 
fortress  belonging  to  the  dethroned  Moor.  The  inhabitants  armed 
and  advanced  against  the  faithless  assailants,  but  w'ithout  success. 
Their  complaints,  however,  of  Christian  perfidy  were  loud  and  just. 

It  cannot  be  matter  of  surprise  that  the  insulted,  betrayed,  and 
oppressed  Mohammedans  should  be  eager  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
under  which  they  groaned.  In  1247  they  rose,  chose  a  leader,  and 
seized  several  fortresses.  Jayme  had  now  an  excuse  for  proceed- 
ing to  greater  rigor — for  decreeing  their  expulsion  from  the  king- 
dom of  Valencia.  He  caused  the  fatal  mandate  to  be  translated 
into  Arabic  and  to  be  distributed  throughout  the  country.  A 
month  only  was  allowed  the  persecuted  people  to  collect  their 
nKA-ablc  property  and  to  depart.  In  vain  did  they  beseech  him 
to  recall  his  niamlatc,  and  offer  a  large  sum  of  money  for  permis- 


A  R  A  G  O  N  243 

1252-1276 

sion  to  remain.  Seeing  that  nothing  was  to  be  obtained  from  his 
humanity  or  justice,  they  arose  in  a  body  to  resist  his  decree.  But 
this  desperate  effort  was  of  Httle  avail:  the  places  which  they  sur- 
prised were  quickly  recovered  and  the  inhabitants  escorted  to  the 
frontiers  of  Murcia.  Owing,  however,  to  some  domestic  troubles, 
and  to  the  resistance  offered  by  some  fortresses,  the  expulsion  of  the 
whole  body  was  necessarily  deferred.  In  1252,  four  years  after  the 
promulgation  of  the  decree,  he  issued  a  second,  which  allowed  them 
a  respite  of  twelve  months  prior  to  their  final  departure.  At  the 
expiration  of  this  period  most  of  them  were  pitilessly  driven  across 
the  frontier. 

If  we  except  these  brilliant  conquests,  there  is  little  in  the 
actions  of  Jayme  to  command  our  respect.  In  1229  his  marriage 
with  Leonora  of  Castile  was  declared  null,  on  account  of  their  being 
within  the  forbidden  degrees  of  consanguinity;  but  the  infante  Al- 
fonso, the  issue  of  this  connection,  was  at  the  same  time  declared 
legitimate.  As  Jayme  was  not  of  a  temperament  to  remain  long  with- 
out a  queen,  in  1235  he  received  the  hand  of  Yoland,  a  Hungarian 
princess.  To  Pedro,  the  issue  of  the  second  marriage,  he  proposed 
to  leave  Catalonia,  a  proposal  highly  resented  by  Prince  Alfonso 
and  not  very  agreeable  to  the  Catalonians  themselves :  hence  the 
divisions  which  began  to  distract  his  family  and  which  embittered 
his  domestic  peace.  In  1258  his  states  remonstrated  against  the 
partition  of  the  monarchy,  as  prejudicial  to  all  their  interests  and 
as  injurious  to  the  eldest  son  Alfonso,  but  the  remonstrance  was 
without  effect.  In  1260  Alfonso,  who  had  never  been  loved  by 
him,  suddenly  died,  and  the  favorite  son,  Pedro,  became  his  lawful 
heir.  The  same  year  he  arranged  the  marriage  of  this  son  with 
Constanqa,  daughter  of  Manfred,  king  of  Sicily — a  marriage,  as 
ue  shall  perceive  in  tlie  next  reign,  followed  by  momentous  events. 

Don  Jayme  died  in  1276,  in  Valencia,  whither  he  had  advanced 
to  chastise  a  partial  insurrection  of  his  Moorish  subjects,  who,  being 
aided  by  the  king  of  Granada,  had  defeated  two  of  his  barons.  He 
is  little  deserving  the  high  character  given  him  by  the  peninsular 
historians.  If  magnanimity  can  be  reconciled  with  perfidy,  devo- 
tion with  unbridled  lust  and  barbarous  cruelty,  their  encomiums 
may  be  just. 

I'edro  III.  lost  no  time  in  restoring  tranquillity  in  Valencia, 
but  scarcely  was  this  object  effected  when  many  of  his  rebellious 
barons,  whose  constant  end  was  the  curtailment  of  the  royal  preroga- 


244.  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1276-1280 

tive  and  the  oppression  of  the  poor,  broke  out  into  an  open  insurrec- 
tion. He  reduced  them  to  obedience.  In  two  years  they  again 
rebelled,  but  with  no  better  success :  they  were  invested  in  the  for- 
tress of  Balaguer,  which  was  at  length  compelled  to  surrender,  and 
were  for  some  time  detained  prisoners. 

But  the  most  important  transactions  of  Pedro  were  with  Sicily. 
On  the  death  of  Manfred,  who  had  usurped  that  kingdom,  to  the 
j)rejudice  of  Conradin,  his  nephew,  the  true  heir,  and  who  fell  at 
Benevento,  in  battle  with  Charles  of  Anjou,  whom  the  pope  had 
invested  with  the  fief,  the  French  prince  took  undisturbed  posses- 
sion of  the  Two  Sicilies.  When  Conradin  had  attained  his  sixteenth 
year,  knowing  tlie  hatred  borne  to  the  French  rule  by  the  Sicilies, 
and  that  the  Ghibelline  faction  was  at  his  command,  he  resolved  to 
vindicate  his  rightful  claims.  In  this,  however,  he  was  defeated, 
was  taken  prisoner  in  the  retreat,  was  tried,  condemned,  and  exe- 
cuted at  Naples.  The  Ghibellines,  and  all  who  revered  the  rights 
of  blood,  now  turned  their  eyes  towards  Constanga,  daughter  of 
Manfred  and  Queen  of  Aragon,  while  the  Guelphs,  and  all  who 
recognized  the  Papal  supremacy  over  the  kingdom,  continued  the 
zealous  assertors  of  the  rights  of  Charles,  the  pope's  feudatory. 
But  the  tyrannical  government  of  Charles,  his  rapacity  and  injus- 
tice, the  heavy  exactions  which  he  made  the  people  to  endure,  his 
contemptuous  disregard  of  their  complaints,  the  haughtiness  of  his 
French  counselors,  soon  made  him  hateful  to  the  whole  body  of 
his  subjects.  The  oppressed  inhabitants  dispatched  messengers  with 
complaints  to  Nicholas  III.,  to  Michael  Palaeologus,  emperor  of 
Constantinople,  and,  above  all,  to  Pedro  of  Aragon,  whom  they 
regarded  in  right  of  Constanta  as  lawful  ruler,  and  whom  they  urged 
to  expel  the  tyrant  without  delay. 

Pedro  was  overjoyed  at  this  opportunity  of  extending  his 
dominions;  but  to  fight  against  the  pope,  the  king  of  France,  brother 
to  Charles  of  Sicily,  and  the  whole  party  of  the  Guelphs,  was  too 
momentous  an  undertaking  to  be  lightly  commenced.  He  first 
secured  a  considerable  sum  from  the  Greek  emperor,  to  whom  the 
vSicilian  usurper  was  obnoxious;  he  next  collected  a  fleet,  assembled 
his  barons,  gave  liberty  to  his  rebel  subjects,  whom  he  had  placed 
in  confinement,  but  took  care  to  conceal  his  purpose.  By  pretend- 
ing that  his  expedition  was  to  be  directed  against  Barbary,  and  by 
even  sending  an  ambassador  to  the  pope  (^Martin  IV.),  soliciting 
an  indulgence  fijr  all  who  joined  him  in  warring  against  the  infidels, 


I'Klllvtj     III     Ml'     .\K\(,ii\.     1IA>TKXIX(,     Til    Till-.     Sl( 

I  X     -l(,ll  i'    Ml-     T!i  K    nK-l|i,Kii 

I'tiinting    by    M.    l-t.:r!\i.'.<.: 


Ik    iiF     AIKS<I\  \      AKKi\KS 


A  R  A  G  O  N  245 

1280-1283 

he  hoped  to  lull  the  suspicions  of  Europe.  But  Martin,  who  was 
not  to  be  deceived,  contumeliously  dismissed  the  ambassador.  This 
circumstance  did  not  discourage  Pedro,  whose  armament  was  prose- 
cuted with  an  alacrity  inspired  by  the  hope  of  success. 

While  the  inhabitants  of  Messina  were  negotiating  with  the 
pope  and  Charles  of  Anjou  for  pardon  and  a  redress  of  grievances, 
and  while  the  latter  was  preparing  to  inflict  a  terrific  vengeance  on 
both  them  and  all  their  countrymen,  Pedro,  at  the  head  of  his 
formidable  armament,  left  the  ports  of  Catalonia  and  steered 
towards  the  African  coast.  In  August  he  landed  at  Trapani,  where 
his  reception  was  enthusiastic :  he  hastened  to  Palermo,  where  he 
was  joyfully  proclaimed  king  of  Sicily.  The  inhabitants  of  Mes- 
sina, still  invested  by  Charles,  besought  the  new  monarch  to  relieve 
them,  and  to  receive  their  homage.  Indignant  at  the  proposal  of 
the  French  prince,  who  insisted  on  the  fall  of  800  obnoxious  heads 
as  the  price  of  forgiveness,  they  had  defended  themselves  with 
a  valor  almost  superhuman:  even  the  women  and  children  had 
joined  in  the  resistance,  and  from  the  walls  had  harassed  the  be- 
siegers. Pedro  now  hastened  to  their  aid,  his  fleet  proceeding 
along  the  coast,  while  he  rapidly  marched  by  land,  and,  to  raise 
their  courage,  he  sent  before  him  500  ballasteros  and  a  few  com- 
panies of  Almogaveres.  Elated  by  the  arrival  of  these  formidable 
allies,  and  by  the  vicinity  of  their  new  king,  they  redoubled  their 
hostilities  against  tlie  French.  Charles  now  raised  the  siege  and 
conducted  his  powerful  armament  towards  the  ports  of  Calabria : 
it  was  pursued  by  that  of  Aragon,  headed  by  Don  Jayme,  a  son  of 
Pedro,  who  took  twenty  vessels,  with  4,000  prisoners.  But  the 
young  prince,  listening  only  to  his  ardor,  instead  of  returning  to 
Messina,  pursued  Charles  to  a  fort  in  Calabria,  which  he  attempted 
to  take,  where,  being  repulsed  with  some  loss,  he  reembarked 
his  troops.  His  father,  indignant  at  his  failure,  deprived  him  of 
the  naval  command,  which  was  intrusted  to  a  more  experienced 
chief,  Roger  de  Lauria. 

No  sooner  did  Pope  Martin  hear  of  Pedro's  proclamation  at 
Palermo  and  Messina,  of  the  enthusiasm  shown  towards  the  mon- 
arch by  the  Sicilians,  and  of  the  flight  of  Cliarles,  than  he  excom- 
municated the  Aragoncse. 

While  Pedro  remained  in  Aragon,  his  admiral,  Roger  de 
Lauria,  reduced  the  greater  part  of  Malta.  lie  afterwards  defeated 
a  French  fleet  within  sight  of  Xa})les,  taking  the  prince  of  Salerno, 


246  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1283-1286 

the  son  of  Charles,  prisoner.  The  vindictive  pope  now  proclaimed 
a  crusade  against  the  excommunicated  king  of  Aragon:  his  legate 
zealously  preached  it  in  France,  declaring  Pedro  deprived  of  the 
crown,  which  he  conferred  on  Charles  de  Valois,  who  was  thus  to 
possess  both  it  and  that  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  Fortunately  for  Pedro 
both  Sicily  and  Aragon  required  other  weapons  than  a  furious 
churchman  could  wield  before  they  could  be  drawn  from  his  sway. 
Though  the  same  indulgences  as  were  awarded  to  all  who  warred 
for  the  holy  sepulcher  were  promised  to  such  as  engaged  in  this 
Spanish  crusade;  though  vast  numbers,  among  whom  was  Jayme, 
king  of  Majorca,  brother  and  vassal  of  the  Aragonese  king,  flocked 
to  the  standard  of  Philip ;  though  that  monarch  lost  no  time  in  pene- 
trating, by  way  of  Roussillon,  into  Catalonia,  at  the  head  of  100,000 
men,  these  formidable  preparations  ended  in  nothing.  If  Gerona, 
after  a  long  and  bloody  siege,  capitulated,  the  French  fleet  was 
almost  annihilated  near  Rosas  by  the  famous  Roger  de  Lauria. 
Even  this  advantage  was  so  dearly  bought, — the  ranks  of  the 
invaders  were  so  thinned  by  pestilence  and  the  sword, — that  Philip, 
leaving  a  garrison  in  Gerona,  immediately  returned  to  Perpignan, 
where  he  died.  The  rear  of  his  army  in  this  retreat  was  dread- 
fully harassed  by  Don  Pedro,  who  recovered  Gerona  with  the 
greatest  facility. 

Pedro  had  just  dispatched  his  eldest  son  Alfonso  with  a  small 
armament  to  dethrone  his  brother  Don  Jayme,  as  a  punishment  for 
the  aid  which  that  prince  had  lent  to  the  invaders,  when  death  sur- 
prised him  at  Villa  Franca  de  Panades.  In  his  will  he  left  Aragon 
and  Catalonia  to  Alfonso,  and  Sicily  to  his  second  son  Don  Jayme. 

Though  Alfonso  III.  heard  of  his  father's  death  immediately 
after  his  disembarkation  he  refused  to  return  until  he  had  dethroned 
his  uncle.  As  Jayme  was  not  much  beloved  by  the  inhabitants  of 
these  islands,  whom  he  had  offended  by  his  exactions,  the  enterprise 
was  successful.  The  dethroned  king  had  still  ^^^lontpellier,  Con- 
flans,  and  other  possessions  in  France :  to  these  he  retired,  but  they 
appear  the  same  year  to  have  been  laid  waste  by  Roger  de  Lauria, 
the  able  and  intrepid  admiral  of  A.ragon. 

During  Alfonso's  absence  the  nobles  of  Aragon  had  assembled 
in  Sarag(jssa,  to  provide  for  the  due  administration  of  justice. 
Some  of  them  were  not  a  little  scandalized  that  he  should  have 
assumed  in  the  Pjalcaric  Isles  the  title  of  king,  since,  by  ancient 
custom,  it  could  be  assumed  only  after  he  had  sworn  before  the 


A  R  A  G  O  N  247 

1286-1295 

assembly  of  the  states  to  observe  the  customs,  privileges,  immunities 
and  laws  of  the  realm.  Alfonso,  indeed,  was  placed  in  a  situation 
of  some  difficulty:  though  he  knew  that  three-fourths  of  the  de- 
liberative body,  and  a  still  greater  portion  of  the  people,  were  in 
favor  of  his  prerogatives,  he  saw  that  the  discontented  would  not 
draw  the  sword  in  the  impending  war  with  France  and  the  pope 
unless  he  consented  to  sacrifice  them :  indeed,  during  the  late  wars, 
even  when  Catalonia  was  invaded  by  the  French,  several  cities  of 
Aragon  had  shown  no  disposition  to  defend  the  country.  Knowing 
well  how  necessary  union  was  at  such  a  crisis,  he  acquiesced  in  their 
demands,  and  in  so  doing  he  transformed  the  monarchy  into  a 
republic.  Some  of  these  concessions  he  afterwards  revoked  when 
the  confederates  invaded  Valencia,  which  refused  to  join  their 
cause :  but  he  was  a  second  time  compelled  to  grant  them. 

The  short  reign  of  Alfonso  was  not,  however,  much  harassed 
by  foreign  war.  Through  the  English  Edward  I.,  who  had  agreed 
to  a  matrimonial  connection  between  him  and  a  princess  of  England, 
conferences  were  frequently  held  by  the  ambassadors  of  the  powers 
concerned  for  the  restoration  of  peace. 

Alfonso  scarcely  survived  the  conclusion  of  this  peace:  he 
suddenly  died  at  Barcelona,  in  June,  1291,  in  the  midst  of  his  ne- 
gotiations for  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Eleanor,  daughter  of  his 
ally,  the  English  king.  As  he  left  no  issue,  the  crown  devolved  to 
his  brother,  the  king  of  Sicily,  who  hastened  to  claim  the  rich 
inheritance. 

Jayme  II.  was  no  sooner  in  possession  of  the  throne  of  Aragon, 
than,  to  retain  it  without  opposition  from  the  pope,  the  French  king 
and  Charles,  now  king  of  Naples,  he  showed  a  disposition  to  make 
peace  with  those  powers.  Alarmed  at  the  intelligence,  his  Sicilian 
subjects  conjured  him  not  to  become  a  party  to  any  project  which 
did  not  unite  the  two  crowns ;  and  he  promised  to  regard  their 
prayer.  In  1295,  however,  tlirough  the  care  of  Boniface  VIII.,  a 
new  congress  was  held,  to  procure  the  same  conditions  as  had  been 
sanctioned  by  Alfonso.  To  cement  the  alliance  between  Jayme  and 
the  Neapolitan  king,  the  former  agreed  to  marry  the  Princess 
Blanche,  daughter  of  tlie  latter.  Thus  were  the  Sicilians  a  second 
time  betrayed :  on  receiving  the  hand  of  the  princess,  Jayme  made 
a  formal  cession  of  the  island  in  favor  of  his  father-in-law. 

To  the  conduct  of  the  Sicilians  in  this  age  it  is  impossible  to 
refuse  the  tribute  of  admiration.    Rather  than  submit  to  the  enemies 


248  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1295-1300 

of  their  national  independence  and  of  their  individual  liberty, — 
though  their  resources  were  few,  and  they  were  then  abandoned  by 
one  whose  duty  to  protect  them  was  most  solemn, — they  resolved 
to  brave  their  numerous  formidable  antagonists.  They  proclaimed 
Frederic,  brother  of  Jayme,  and  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defense. 
To  the  exhortations  of  the  king  of  Aragon  that  they  would  sub- 
mit to  the  Holy  See  they  listened  with  indignant  contempt.  In 
an  interview  with  the  pope,  who  gave  him  the  investiture  of  Sar- 
dinia and  Corsica,  he  was  so  strongly  pressed  to  fulfill  his  conditions 
of  the  treaty  that,  though  he  was  averse  to  contend  with  a  brother, 
he  could  no  longer  delay  assisting  his  ally,  the  Neapolitan  king. 
Having  recalled  his  Aragonese  and  Catalonian  subjects  in  the  ser- 
vice of  Frederic,  in  1298  he  passed  over  to  Italy  with  a  considerable 
armament.  There,  having  conferred  with  the  pope  and  the  king 
of  Naples  on  the  plan  of  hostilities,  he  sailed  for  Sicily.  In  this 
unnatural,  and,  on  the  part  of  the  King  Jayme,  unjust  war,  it  is 
some  consolation  to  perceive  that  he  \yas  not  entirely  deaf  to  the 
voice  of  blood.  Hearing  that  his  brother  was  advancing  w^ith  a 
fleet  to  oppose  him,  he  besought  that  prince  to  return  to  the  island, 
and  thereby  avoid  the  danger  no  less  than  the  disgrace  of  a  battle. 
The  latter,  believing  that  he  was  an  unwilling,  and  would  prove 
no  very  destructive  enemy,  obeyed  the  intimation.  But  at  first  he 
showed  no  want  of  zeal  in  the  cause  of  the  church :  he  took  several 
fortresses  and  laid  siege  to  Syracuse.  The  vigorous  resistance, 
however,  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  capture  of  a  part  of  his  fleet 
by  the  vassals  of  his  brother,  compelled  him  to  return  to  Spain  for 
reinforcements.  His  absence  was  diligently  improved  by  Frederic, 
who  immediately  recovered  the  places  which  he  had  gained.  With 
a  powerful  fleet  he  a  second  time  appeared  off  the  coast:  he  was 
encountered  by  the  Sicilian  king,  who,  after  a  gallant  action,  was 
defeated,  eighteen  of  the  Sicilian  vessels  and  numerous  prisoners 
remaining  in  the  power  of  the  victors.  There  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  Jayme  could  have  taken  his  brother's  galley  on  this 
memorable  occasion,  but  that  nature  urged  him  to  connive  at  its 
escape.  Nor  would  he  improve  his  advantage :  instead  of  pro- 
ceeding to  the  Sicilian  coast,  he  returned  to  Naples,  declared  that 
he  had  fulfilled  his  share  of  the  treaty,  that  Charles  must  now  prose- 
cute the  war  with  the  French  and  Neapolitans  alone,  and  that  he 
should  return  to  his  dominions,  the  affairs  of  which  demanded  his 
presence.     And  return  he  did,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances 


A  R  A  G  O  N  M9 

1300-1327 

of  his  father-in-law  and  the  pope ;  nor  would  he,  at  any  subsequent 
period,  renew  the  unnatural  strife. 

In  the  reign  of  Jayme  the  Templars  sustained  the  persecution 
to  which  allusion  has  before  been  made.  Being  accused  of  heresy, — 
a  senseless  and  malicious  accusation,  as  applied  to  the  whole  body, — 
the  knights,  to  escape  the  fury  of  the  multitude,  threw  themselves 
into  their  fortresses.  This  act,  which  self-preservation  rendered 
necessary,  was  represented  to  the  king  as  an  open  rebellion.  He 
speedily  collected  troops  and  marched  to  reduce  them  to  obedience ; 
but  on  his  approach  the  places  submitted  without  a  blow,  the 
knights  informing  him  that  what  they  had  done  had  been  only  in 
self-defense,  that  they  were  too  loyal  to  oppose  their  liege  lord. 
And  when,  in  13 12,  the  order  was  abolished  by  the  council  of  Vienna, 
Jayme,  in  conjunction  with  the  kings  of  Castile  and  Portugal,  pro- 
cured an  honorable  exemption  for  those  of  Spain,  who  were  allowed 
by  the  fathers  of  the  council  to  retain  their  possessions  during  life. 

Mention  has  been  already  made  that  the  sovereignty  of  Sar- 
dinia and  Corsica  was  conferred  by  the  pope  on  the  king  of  Aragon ; 
but  though  the  investiture  was  his,  the  national  government  of 
Sardinia  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Pisans,  whose  exactions  are  said 
to  have  oj^pressed  and  their  tyranny  to  have  exasperated  the  natives. 
In  1 32 1  some  of  the  nobles  confederated  and  sent  a  deputation  to 
Jayme,  requesting  him  to  wrest  the  island  from  the  tyrannical 
governors,  who  despised  alike  his  authority  and  their  privileges. 
In  the  meantime  Jayme  sent  a  small  reinforcement  under  his  son 
Alfonso  to  aid  his  partisans,  who  were  already  in  arms.  Cagliari 
was  invested,  but  was  instantly  relieved  by  the  Pisans :  the  infante, 
however,  continued  the  siege  and  obtained  a  considerable  advantage 
in  the  open  field  over  the  troops  of  the  republic.  In  1324  the  city 
capitulated,  the  Pisans  being  still  left  in  the  government,  as  vassals 
of  Aragon,  on  the  condition  of  their  surrendering  the  other  for- 
tresses and  towns  of  the  island.  The  following  year,  however, 
witnessed  many  commotions,  produced  by  the  agents  of  the  republic, 
who  labored  to  regain  their  lost  domination ;  so  that  the  king  was 
compelled  to  send  a  second  armament  to  reduce  Cagliari,  and 
thereby  establish  his  authorit\-.  In  1326  tliat  important  place  sur- 
rendered and  the  Pisans  abandoned  the  island. 

King  Jayme  died  in  1327  and  was  succeeded  by  his  second  son 
Alfonso. 

Alfonso  IV.  was  doomed  to  much  annoyance  from  the  new 


250  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1327-134'.' 

conquest  of  Sardinia.  In  1330  the  Genoese,  incensed  that  the 
Catalonians,  their  rivals  in  commerce,  should  have  obtained  a  set- 
tlement in  seas  which  they  considered  as  exclusively  their  right,  not 
only  fomented  a  spirit  of  disaffection  among  the  islanders,  but  sent 
a  fleet  to  invest  the  capital.  A  bloody  war  ensued,  and  the  warfare 
raged  during  the  whole  of  this  prince's  reign. 

Alfonso,  like  his  predecessors,  was  not  averse  to  encourage 
the  rebellions  which  at  this  period  almost  continually  afflicted  Cas- 
tile, but  without  deriving  any  ultimate  advantage  from  his  ungener- 
ous policy.  If  the  internal  state  of  his  own  kingdom  was  tranquil, 
it  was  not  so  in  his  own  house.  His  eldest  son  and  destined  suc- 
cessor, Don  Pedro,  offended  that  he  had  bestowed  on  Alfonso — 
another  son,  by  a  second  wife — some  domains  of  the  crown,  com- 
plained loudly  of  his  prodigality.  It  was  not  in  Alfonso's  power  to 
stifle  these  dissensions,  which  not  only  embittered  his  peace,  but 
aggravated  the  hydropsical  disease  under  which  he  had  long  suf- 
fered.    He  died  at  Barcelona  in  1336. 

No  sooner  had  Pedro  IV.  ascended  the  throne  than  Queen 
Leonora,  apprehensive  of  the  consequences  of  a  quarrel  with  him, 
fled  to  Fraga,  whence  she  implored  the  protection  of  her  brother 
Alfonso,  king  of  Castile.  At  the  same  time  she  wrote  to  Don 
Pedro,  reminding  him  that,  though  his  stepmother,  she  was  his 
father's  widow,  that  her  children  were  his  brothers,  and  beseech- 
ing him  to  bury  past  remembrances  in  oblivion.  He  replied  that 
she  need  be  under  no  apprehension  from  him ;  that  his  object  was 
to  procure  a  good  understanding  with  her  and  his  brothers :  yet 
such  was  his  duplicity  that  at  this  very  moment  his  troops  were 
reducing  the  fortresses  which  belonged  to  her.  Some  years  having 
elapsed,  in  1345  the  king,  so  far  from  wishing  to  do  his  stepmother 
justice,  endeavored  to  seize  the  domains  belonging  to  his  two 
brothers,  Ferdinand  and  Juan,  on  the  pretext  that  the  revenues 
of  the  crown  were  materially  injured  by  the  prodigality  of  their 
common  father.  On  the  representations  of  the  Castilian  king  he 
again  suspended  though  he  was  far  from  abandoning  his  purpose. 
The  troubles  which  agitated  his  kingdom,  and  to  which  we  must  now 
advert,  will  account  for  this  temporary  forbearance. 

The  dissatisfaction  of  some  of  Pedro's  barons  commenced  with 
liis  reign.  A  parly  in  the  state  he  offended  in  1347,  by  purposing 
to  set  aside  the  order  of  succession,  as  established  by  Don  Jayme  el 
Cunfiuistador,  which,   on   the  failure  of  direct  heirs  male,   called 


ARAGON  251 

1347 

in  the  collateral  male  branches, — or,  in  other  words,  which  en- 
forced the  Salic  law.  As  Pedro,  by  his  Queen  Maria  of  Navarre, 
had  only  a  daughter — the  infanta  Constanza — his  brother  Don 
Jayme  was  the  presumptive  heir  to  the  crown.  Securing  the  suc- 
cession to  Pedro's  daughter,  however,  had  no  effect  on  the  prince 
this  tended  to  exclude,  and  Jayme  now  resolved  to  vindicate  his 
supposed  claims  by  force.  Amid  the  elements  of  discontent  which 
lay  scattered  on  every  side  he  had  no  difficulty  in  collecting  means 
of  resistance.  Several  of  the  great  towns,  and  a  large  proportion  of 
the  barons,  declared  for  him :  in  revenge,  he  was  deprived  by  the 
king  of  the  government  of  Valencia.  It  was  the  imprudence,  no 
less  than  the  fortune,  of  Pedro,  to  multiply  his  personal  enemies. 
Hearing  that  his  brother  Ferdinand  was  in  treaty  for  the  hand  of 
Leonora,  infanta  of  Portugal,  he  demanded  and  obtained  (his 
queen  was  no  more)  that  princess  for  himself. 

From  the  causes  just  detailed,  and  from  the  restless  ambition 
of  his  barons,  who  constantly  aimed  at  diminishing  the  royal  au- 
thority, a  formidable  confederacy  was  soon  formed  against  the 
king.  At  the  head  of  this  league  was  Don  Jayme.  A  similar  one 
was  soon  formed  in  Valencia,  under  the  guidance  of  the  infante 
Ferdinand.  Both  diligently  raised  troops  to  take  the  field  against 
the  king;  the  latter  obtained  leave  from  Alfonso  to  raise  800  horse 
in  Castile.  To  render  their  force  resistless,  both  combined  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  same  object — the  annihilation  of  the  royal  power — 
and  engaged  to  assist  each  other  whenever  assailed  by  the  troops  of 
Pedro.  Conscious  of  their  united  strength,  they  now  loudly  de- 
manded the  convocation  of  the  states,  which  accordingly  met  at 
Saragossa,  and  which  were,  as  usual,  opened  by  the  monarch.  One 
day,  after  a  concession  had  been  wrung  from  Pedro,  when  others 
as  exorbitant  were  demanded  by  Don  Jayme  and  the  leaguers,  the 
king  rose  in  great  fury,  taxed  the  infante  with  treason  and  rebellion, 
as  one  who,  without  honor  or  faith,  aimed  at  subverting  the  royal 
power  by  working  on  tlie  untutored  minds  of  the  people.  The  con- 
federates, in  consternation  at  his  unexpected  boldness,  and  convinced 
of  the  bitter  truths  contained  in  his  invectives,  stared  at  each  other 
in  astonishment,  until  one  of  them  hastened  to  the  door  and  invited 
the  populace  to  draw  the  sword  in  defense  of  their  rights.  A  furi- 
ous multitude,  with  arms  in  readiness,  immediately  entered,  with  the 
resolution  of  sacrificing  the  king  and  liis  partisans.  But  his  adhe- 
rents drew  their  weapons  and  placed  themselves  in  a  corner  of  the 


252  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1347 

apartment  (a  hall  in  the  monastery  of  the  preaching  friars  at 
Saragossa),  while  all  the  nobles  present,  scandalized  at  this  dis- 
graceful outrage,  arrested  the  popular  violence.  The  king  soon 
closed  the  states,  without  yielding  any  further  to  the  demands  of  the 
union,  and  hastened  into  Catalonia,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of 
collecting  troops,  to  reduce  the  whole  body  to  obedience.  That  the 
leaguers  did  not  prevent  his  departure  was  owing  to  the  suspicions 
irresistibly  forced  on  their  minds  that  there  was  treachery  in  their 
camp,  and  that  he  had  more  secret  adherents  than  they  had  expected, 
lie  was  followed  to  Barcelona  by  the  infante  Don  Jayme,  who 
sickened  and  died  in  that  city,  not  without  suspicions  of  poison. 

The  union  of  Valencia,  nowise  discouraged  by  the  ill-success  of 
that  of  Aragon,  immediately  invested  the  fortresses  which  held  for 
the  king,  whose  troops  they  defeated  before  Xativa.  The  infante 
Ferdinand,  who  was  now  proclaimed  lieutenant-general  of  that 
province,  and  head  of  the  confederacy,  with  a  force  estimated  at 
30,000,  obtained  a  second  victory  over  the  royalists.  Pedro  now 
hastened  from  Barcelona,  to  crush  in  person  this  formidable  rebel- 
lion. Hearing  of  his  march,  the  union  of  Aragon  sent  to  that  of 
Valencia  large  reinforcements,  of  which,  though  a  portion,  through 
a  recent  attachment  to  the  crown,  separated  from  their  companions, 
near  20,000  joined  Ferdinand.  That  infante  was  now  at  the  head 
of  near  60,000  men,  w^th  whom  he  purposed  to  invest  Pedro  in 
Alurviedro.  In  vain  did  the  king  endeavor  to  detach  him  by  bribes 
and  promises  from  the  union,  by  investing  him  with  the  lieutenancy 
of  the  monarchy,  and  by  recognizing  him  as  heir  to  the  crown,  in 
the  event  of  a  failure  of  male  issue  by  the  new  queen.  While  this 
fruitless  negotiation  was  pending,  the  inhabitants  of  Murviedro  rose, 
seized  both  king  and  queen,  and  transferred  them  to  Valencia,  as 
a  place  of  greater  security.  The  popular  disposition  in  that  city 
was  not  more  favorable  than  in  the  other :  though  he  was  received 
with  much  outward  respect,  and,  later,  wnth  acceptance.  Shouts  of 
"  The  king  forever!"  succeeded  the  deep-breathed  curses  and  savage 
yells  which  shortly  before  arose,  and  the  monarch  was  triumphantly 
acc(jmpanied  to  one  of  the  suburbs.  Thither  the  disconcerted  chiefs 
of  the  league,  I-'erdinand  among  the  rest,  repaired,  to  yield  him  his 
accustomed  honors.  With  well-dissembled  courtesy  he  received  the 
arch-rebel,  published  an  amnesty  for  all  who  had  taken  up  arms, 
and,  on  leaving  the  city,  conceded  to  the  Valencians  the  privileges 
which  the  union  had  demanded.      In  the  meantime  his  partisans 


A  R  A  G  O  N  253 

1347-1357 

were  not  inactive  in  Catalonia:  he  had  soon  an  army  on  foot  with 
which  two  of  his  generals  attacked,  defeated,  and  took  Ferdinand. 
The  infante,  how^ever,  from  fear  of  the  king's  vengeance,  was  con- 
ducted into  Castile.  Pedro  himself  advanced  against  Saragossa, 
the  very  stronghold  of  faction.  One  instance  of  ill-fortune  had 
damped,  as  much  as  success  had  encouraged,  the  rehels ;  they  received 
him  with  great  humility,  renounced  the  privileges  of  the  union, 
and  threw  themselves  wholly  on  his  mercy.  Aragon  was  now 
pacified ;  its  union  was  no  more :  but  Valencia  remained  in  rebellion. 
Having  assembled  a  formidable  army,  JaymiC  marched  into  that 
province,  and,  in  a  battle  near  the  capital,  triumphed  over  the 
leaguers.  Valencia  immediately  surrendered  at  discretion.  Thus 
in  a  few  short  months  was  this  vast  confederacy  dissipated,  and  by 
none  other  than  the  most  ordinary  means. 

On  the  termination  of  these  troubled  scenes  Leonora  and  one 
of  her  sons  took  refuge  in  Castile.  But  misfortunes  assailed  them 
there,  superior,  perhaps,  to  any  which  would  have  befallen  them  in 
Aragon.  How  the  infante  Juan  was  murdered  at  Bilbao,  and 
Leonora  herself,  in  the  castle  of  Castro  Xeres,  by  order  of  Pedro 
the  Cruel,  has  been  related  in  the  reign  of  that  monarch.  Ferdi- 
nand, indeed,  escaped  the  vengence  of  the  tyrant,  but,  as  we  shall 
soon  see,  a  fate  no  less  tragical  awaited  him.  The  misunderstanding 
between  the  two  Pedros  commenced  in  1356,  on  the  refusal  of  the 
Castilian  to  restore  a  prize  made  at  sea  by  one  of  his  Biscayan 
pirates.  The  second  offense  was  committed  by  an  admiral  of  Cata- 
lonia, who,  under  the  eyes  of  the  Castilian,  captured  two  Pisan 
vessels — a  power  with  which  the  Aragonese  were  at  war — in  the 
port  of  Santa  Maria.  On  the  refusal  of  his  brother-sovereign  to 
make  satisfaction  for  this  he  levied  a  heavy  contribution  on  the 
Catalan  inhabitants  of  Seville,  and  declared  war  against  Aragon. 
Hostilities  now  commenced,  with  \arious  success  and  many  suspen- 
sions. It  was  the  policy  of  the  Aragonese  to  engage  in  his  service 
the  discontented  barons  of  Castile,  especially  of  Enrique,  count  of 
Trastamara,  w'ho  in  the  sequel  succeeded  Pedro  the  Cruel.  In  this 
warfare  the  count  was  a  useful  auxiliary  to  the  Aragonese  king; 
but  whenever  a  truce  was  made  he  had  reason  to  complain  that  his 
services  were  no  longer  remembered,  since  one  of  the  conditions 
invariably  was  that  he  should  be  expelled  from  /Vragon.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  infante  Ferdinand  was  sometimes  leagued  with  the 
Castilian.     In   1357   Pedro  took  Tarragona  and  some  other  for- 


254  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1338-1344 

tresses,  but  he  lost  Alicante  and  Orihuela.  In  1359  his  fleet  infested 
the  coast  of  Valencia,  harassing  Barcelona  and  Iviga.  The  same  year, 
however,  his  generals  were  defeated  by  land,  and  the  following 
witnessed  the  recovery  of  Tarragona.  Such  were  invariably  the 
indecisive  results  of  this  desultory  warfare — results  which  it  would 
be  useless  to  particularize.  In  general,  the  success  of  the  war 
rested  with  the  Castilian,  But  those  hostilities  were  soon  averted 
by  the  Papal  legates,  and  the  truce  was,  from  time  to  time,  pro- 
longed, until  1374,  when  peace  was  finally  arranged  between  the 
two  monarchs. 

The  foreign  transactions  of  Pedro  were  of  some  importance. 
In  1338  began  his  misunderstanding  with  Don  Jayme,  king  of 
Majorca,  w^hose  dethronement  he  appears  to  have  meditated  from 
the  commencement  of  his  reign.  Though,  in  1339,  Jayme  did 
homage  for  his  kingdom,  his  destruction  was  no  less  resolved;  his 
unpopular  rule — unpopular  because  tyrannical  and  rapacious — af- 
forded Pedro  well-founded  hopes  of  success.  The  following  year 
Pedro  artfully  drew  up  a  list  of  grievances,  more  imaginary  than 
real,  and  cited  his  vassal  to  appear,  within  twenty-six  days,  at  Bar- 
celona, to  answer  them.  As  the  latter  disregarded  the  summons, 
he  was  declared  contumacious  and  rebellious,  and  deprived  of  the 
fiefs  he  held  from  the  Aragonese  crown.  Through  the  interference 
of  the  pope,  Clement  VI.,  however,  who  was  anxious  to  restore 
peace  between  them,  Pedro  was  persuaded  to  have  an  interview 
with  Jayme  in  Barcelona.  But  the  conduct  of  the  former,  on  this 
occasion,  was  marked  by  equal  violence  and  duplicity.  Having  in- 
vented a  plot  by  which  he  pretended  that  his  liberty  was  in  danger, — 
that  his  person  was  to  be  seized  and  conveyed  to  Majorca, — he 
used  it  as  a  pretext  for  forcibly  detaining  his  sister,  the  wife 
of  Don  Jayme.  In  vain  did  the  latter  demand  his  queen,  and 
complain  of  the  violation  of  the  safe  conduct  which  had  been  granted 
him :  loudly  disclaiming  all  allegiance  to  his  brother-in-law,  he 
sought  his  ships,  returned  to  Majorca,  and,  in  the  impotence 
of  his  passion,  declared  war  against  Aragon,  thereby  sealing  his  own 
ruin.  In  1343  Don  Pedro  sailed  WMth  a  formidable  armament, 
landed  in  IMajorca,  and  was  immediately  joined  by  the  islanders. 
Thus  universally  deserted,  Jayme  fled,  leaving  the  three  islands  in 
the  power  of  his  brother-in-law.  In  the  following  year  Pedro 
declared  \,y  a  sulemn  decree  that  the  Balearic  Isles  should  forever 
form  an  integral  portion  of  the  .Aragonese  crown,  and  again  pene- 


A  R  A  G  O  N  255 

1344-1354 

trated  into  Roiissillon,  the  whole  of  which,  except  the  capital, 
Perpignan,  he  speedily  reduced.  The  unfortunate  Jayme  now  so- 
licited a  safe  conduct,  and,  throwing  himself  at  the  victor's  feet, 
acknowledged  his  errors,  and  pathetically  implored  forgiveness,  in 
consideration  both  of  his  kindness  and  of  the  family  ties  which 
united  them.  As  well  might  he  have  knelt  to  a  rock.  Though 
Clement,  his  unfailing  friend,  assisted  him  with  money  and  made 
earnest  appeals  to  the  king  of  Aragon  in  his  favor,  nothing  was 
to  be  obtained ;  nor  was  it  without  extreme  difficulty  that  he  could 
procure  the  restoration  of  his  wife  Constanza  and  Jayme,  his  eldest 
son;  his  other  children  were  denied  him.  In  1349  he  sold  his  lord- 
ship of  Montpellier  for  120,000  crowns  in  gold  to  the  French  king, 
and  with  the  money  raised  3,000  foot  and  300  horse,  in  the  wild 
resolution  of  reconquering  his  kingdom.  With  this  small  force  he 
embarked,  made  a  descent  on  the  chief  island,  and  marched  against 
the  viceroy  Gilbert.  But  every  action  of  this  prince  was  doomed  to 
be  as  unfortunate  as  his  designs  were  imprudent.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  engagement  he  was  deserted  by  his  mercenaries ; 
he  fought  desperately  with  the  handful  who  remained,  refused  to 
surrender,  and  was  killed  on  the  spot :  his  eldest  son  remained  in  the 
power  of  the  victors.  The  young  prince  subsequently  escaped  from 
prison,  procured  allies,  and  more  than  once  harassed  the  frontiers 
of  Catalonia ;  but  he  was  never  restored  to  his  natural  inheritance. 
He  died  without  issue,  but  though  his  sister  Isabella,  now  heiress  to 
the  throne,  ceded  her  rights  to  the  duke  of  Anjou,  and  though  the 
French  prince  arrived  to  enforce  them,  the  Balearic  Isles  remained 
united  with  the  Aragonese  crown. 

To  this  monarch,  as  to  his  predecessors,  Sardinia  proved  a 
sharp  thorn  in  the  crown.  In  1340  some  of  the  chief  inhabitants 
concerted  with  the  Pisans  and  Genoese  on  the  project  of  subverting 
the  Aragonese  sway;  but,  from  his  efficacious  measures  and  the 
vigilance  of  his  viceroy,  they  were  compelled  to  defer  the  execution. 
In  1347,  hearing  that  his  attention  was  wholly  occupied  by  the 
opposition  of  the  union,  they  broke  out  into  an  open  insurrection, 
defeated  the  Aragonese  troops,  and  slew  the  viceroy.  Another 
was  sent,  who,  in  1349,  defeated  them,  and  the  following  year  many 
of  the  discontented  chiefs  were  gained  over  to  the  royal  cause.  To 
finish  the  war,  in  1354  Pedro  himself  passed  over  to  that  island 
and  convoked  the  states  at  Cagliari,  but  he  found  it  impossible  to 
assuage  the  animosities  which  burned  between  certain  nobles    who 


256  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1368-1384 

were  always  disposed  to  take  opposite  sides:  if  one  declared  for 
Aragon,  the  other  was  sure  to  league  with  the  republic.  In  1368 
the  judge  of  Arborea,  who  had  for  years,  in  defiance  of  Pedro, 
exercised  sovereign  sway  over  a  considerable  portion  of  the  island, 
attempted  to  gain  the  whole,  defeated  the  Aragonese,  and  circum- 
scribed their  dominion  to  the  capital  and  the  few  fortresses  on  the 
coast.  Had  not  his  death  intervened  this  enterprising  man  would 
have  assuredly  attained  the  sovereignty  of  the  island;  but  his  son 
and  successor,  unequal  to  the  task  of  continuing  his  great  work, 
was  unable  to  expel  the  Aragonese.  On  the  tragical  death  of  this 
son,  whose  tyranny  roused  the  people  to  arm  and  put  him  to  death, 
the  war  was  conducted  with  vigor  by  his  sister  Leonora  until  1386, 
when  a  kind  of  compromise  was  effected  between  the  Genoese  and 
the  king  of  Aragon.  Leonora  was  confirmed  in  the  extensive 
dominions  left  her  by  her  father  and  brother,  and  a  full  amnesty 
was  granted  to  all  political  offenders.  But  this  divided  sovereignty 
was  but  a  poor  compensation  for  the  blood  and  treasure  which  had 
been  expended.  The  obstinacy  of  Pedro,  in  retaining  possession 
of  an  island  which  experience  had  shown  would  never  willingly  own 
his  sway,  which  had  already  cost  him  so  many  successive  cam- 
paigns, drew  on  him  the  frequent  remonstrances  of  his  states  and 
the  refusal  of  supplies. 

As  if  one  ruinous  war  for  an  unattainable  object  were  not  suf- 
ficient, on  the  death  of  Frederic,  king  of  Sicily,  in  1377,  who  had 
married  his  daughter  Constanza,  he  claimed  that  crown,  and  showed 
a  disposition  to  arm  in  defense  of  his  claim.  Frederic  III.  left  no 
male  issue;  and  as,  by  the  will  of  Frederic  I.,  females  were  excluded, 
from  the  succession,  he  applied  to  the  pope  for  its  ratification.  But 
j\Iaria,  daughter  of  Frederic,  in  conformity  with  the  last  will  of 
that  prince,  had  ascended  the  throne,  and  her  right  was  sanctioned 
by  Gregory.  If  the  new  queen,  as  the  pontiff  justly  observed,  was 
incapacitated  by  her  sex,  what  became  of  Pedro's  right,  who  could 
claim  only  as  the  descendant  of  the  Princess  Constanza,  daughter 
of  Manfred?  Maria  was  subsequently  brought  into  Aragon  and 
married  by  her  grandfather  to  the  infante  Don  Martin,  another  of 
his  grandchildren.  He  thus  hoped  that,  if  he  himself  could  not 
be  recognized  as  king,  the  crown  would  at  least  remain  in  his 
family,  and  ])erhaps,  at  no  distant  day,  be  incorporated  with  that  of 
Aragon.  I'nt  f<jr  the  obstinacy  of  his  eldest  son  and  heir,  Don 
Juan,  whom  he  wished  to  marry  with  the  young  princess,  but  who, 


A  R  A  G  O  N  257 

1384-1387 

having  become  a  widower  in  1384,  secretly  formed  connection  with 
a  French  princess,  the  effect  of  his  poHcy  would  have  been  an 
immediate  union  of  the  two  crowns.  It  may,  however,  be  doubted 
whether  such  a  union  was  desirable,  since,  from  the  distance  of  the 
two  kingdoms  and  the  contiguity  of  the  island  to  Naples,  it  could 
not  long  have  been  perpetuated. 

The  ambition  of  Pedro  was  insatiable ;  but  it  was  also  senseless, 
as  it  grasped  at  impossibilities.  Hearing  that  some  citizens  of  Athens 
and  Patras,  who  were  of  Aragonese  extraction, — the  descendants 
of  the  crusaders  who  had  conquered  this  duchy, — had  risen  to  estab- 
lish his  domination,  he  sent  an  armament  to  their  aid,  and  was  ulti- 
mately acknowledged.  The  avidity  with  which,  in  1386,  he  seized 
on  the  city  of  Tarragona,  the  government  and  sovereignty  of  which 
had  long  rested  with  the  archbishops  of  that  see,  is  affirmed  by  some 
historians  to  have  been  the  cause  of  his  death.  He  died  in  January, 
1387,  after  an  agitated  reign  of  fifty-one  years. 

The  duplicity  of  this  monarch  was  only  equaled  by  his  violence : 
of  sincerity  and  justice  he  was  wholly  destitute,  and  in  savage 
barbarity  he  was  scarcely  exceeded  by  his  namesake  of  Castile. 
With  many  of  the  vices  and  none  of  the  virtues  of  humanity,  he 
was  neither  loved  nor  respected ;  but,  in  return,  he  was  feared.  It 
is  impossible  not  to  admire  his  constancy  in  reverses :  he  deviated 
not  from  his  purposes,  nor  suffered  his  mind  to  be  depressed,  in 
the  most  critical  periods  of  his  reign, — and  few  princes  were  ever 
placed  in  circumstances  more  critical; — yet  he  almost  uniformly 
gained  his  end.  Justice  must  also  allow  that,  whatever  were  his 
personal  vices,  he  was  no  enemy  to  the  lowest  class  of  his 
people. 

During  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  era  of  Caesar  was  abolished, 
and  the  Christian  adopted  for  the  two  chief  kingdoms  of  Spain, 
in  1350  at  Saragossa  and  in  1383  at  Segovia. 

In  1387  Juan  I.  was  peaceably  acknowledged.  His  accession 
was  regarded  with  great  apprehension  by  his  stepmother,  Sibilla 
(the  late  king  led  four  ladies  to  the  altar),  who,  since  1384,  had 
been  his  open  enemy.  The  reason  of  this  animosity  was  here,  as 
in  former  cases,  the  eagerness  of  the  king  to  alienate  the  crown 
domains  in  favor  of  his  new  queen  and  her  family,  and  the  in- 
dignant opposition  of  the  heir  apparent.  Juan  caused  Queen  Si- 
billa to  be  tried  as  a  witch,  who  had  enchanted  the  late  king,  and 
several  of  her  kindred  and  servants  as  accumplices. 


258  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1387-1395 

The  eagerness  which  the  new  king  showed  to  gratify  his  Queen 
Violante  surprised  and  offended  the  Aragonese.  As  her  disposi- 
tion was  gay,  she  insisted  on  converting  the  palace  into  a  theater; 
balls,  concerts,  theatrical  representations,  and  the  exhibitions  of  the 
gaya  cicncia  succeeded  each  other  without  intermission.  As  the 
Arajronese  themselves  were  too  sober  or  too  dull  to  excel  in  such 
diversions,  professors  were  brought  from  France,  and  even  schools 
established  for  instruction  in  the  idle  art.  It  became  not  merely 
the  relaxation,  but  the  business  of  life;  the  duties  of  government 
were  neglected  or  despised,  until  remonstrances  both  frequent  and 
loud  fell  on  the  royal  ear.  At  first  the  king  resisted  this  interference 
with  his  royal  recreations;  but  when  he  perceived  that  his  barons 
were  in  earnest,  that  they  were  even  preparing  to  arm  for  his  moral 
reformation,  he  yielded :  the  fiddlers  were  dismissed,  and  with  them 
Dona  Carraza  Villaragut,  of  the  queen's  ladies,  the  chief  promoter 
of  these  follies. 

The  short  reign  of  this  prince  was  not  without  its  troubles. 
Having  repelled  an  invasion  of  the  licentious  disbanded  troops  of 
the  south  of  France,  headed  by  the  Count  d'Armagnac,  he  was 
harassed  by  the  insurrection  of  those  most  restless  and  faithless  of 
subjects,  the  Sardinians.  None  of  these  commotions  appear  to  have 
occasioned  King  Juan  the  least  anxiety :  he  resumed  his  diversions, 
that  of  hunting  especially,  with  as  much  eagerness  as  before,  leaving 
the  cares  of  government  to  his  queen.  One  day,  while  occupied  in 
this  favorite  occupation  in  the  forest  of  Foja,  he  fell  from  his  horse 
and  was  killed  on  the  spot. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  this  catastrophe  Aragon,  Cata- 
lonia, and  Valencia  proclaimed  Don  Martin,  brother  of  the  late 
king,  who  was  then  in  Sicily,  supporting  the  rights  of  his  son  and 
daughter-in-law,  sovereigns  of  that  island.  This  choice  gave  great 
umbrage  to  Matthieu,  Count  de  Foix,  who  had  married  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Juan,  and  who  contended  that  the  crown  belonged  to 
him  in  her  right.  He  collected  troops  and  penetrated  into  Cata- 
lonia, but  he  found  the  inhabitants  averse  to  his  pretensions  and 
indignant  at  his  proceedings.  The  count  met  with  a  repulse  both 
there  and  at  Barcelona,  but  he  hoped  that  arms  would  be  more 
effectual  than  arguments,  and  with  a  second  and  more  numerous 
army  he  invaded  Aragon.  There  he  and  his  countess  solemnly 
assumed  the  royal  title  and  arms,  and  reduced  several  towns,  among 
which  was  Balbastro,  but  his  rear  was  so  harassed,  and  such  was  the 


A  R  A  G  O  N  259 

1396-1409 

scarcity  of  provisions  that  he  was  soon  compelled  to  retire  into 
Navarre  by  way  of  Huesca,  Bolca,  and  Ayerba. 

Having  pacified  Sicily,  in  appearance  at  least,  and  caused  his 
son  and  daughter-in-law  to  be  acknowledged  by  the  rebels,  Martin, 
who  seems  to  have  been  in  no  anxiety  about  the  security  of  his 
kingdom,  proceeded  to  Sardinia  and  Corsica,  with  the  view  of  re- 
storing tranquillity  also  in  those  islands.  On  landing  at  Barcelona, 
in  1397,  he  declared  the  Count  and  Countess  de  Foix  traitors  to  the 
state,  and  their  ample  domain  in  Catalonia  confiscated.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  convoked  his  prelates,  barons,  and  deputies  at  Sara- 
gossa,  and  caused  his  son,  the  Sicilian  king,  to  be  acknowledged 
his  successor;  it  was  also  decreed  that  Sicily  and  Aragon  should 
forever  be  united  under  the  same  scepter.  The  Count  de  Foix 
was  soon  afterwards  forced  to  recross  the  Pyrenees ;  and  his  death, 
without  issue,  freed  the  king,  if  not  from  a  formidable,  from  a 
troublesome  rival. 

No  sooner  had  Martin  arrived  in  Spain  than  Sardinia  again 
became  the  theater  of  civil  war.  It  was  fomented  by  Pope  Boni- 
face, who,  incensed  that  the  Aragonese  had  acknowledged  the  rival 
pontiff,  Benedict,  conferred  the  fiefs  of  Sardinia  and  Sicily  on  the 
Count  de  Molineto.  Fortunately  for  the  king,  a  papal  investiture 
was  not  all-powerful.  He  speedily  caused  reinforcements  to  be 
sent  to  both  islands :  in  the  former  they  could  do  no  more  than 
restrain  the  open  hostilities  of  the  rebels ;  in  the  latter  they  restored 
tranquillity.  In  1408  the  Sicilian  king,  indignant  at  seeing  a 
portion  of  his  future  inheritance  wasted,  sent  a  body  of  troops  to 
oppose  the  chief  rebel ;  and  the  following  year,  accompanied  by  a 
greater,  he  himself  passed  into  that  island.  Having  also  received  a 
powerful  aid  from  his  father,  he  marched  against  the  head  of  the 
rebels,  Brancaleon  Doria,  who,  with  18,000  infantry,  did  not  refuse 
the  battle.  It  ended  in  a  complete  triumph  for  the  king,  and  was 
followed  by  the  surrender  of  an  important  fortress.  As  the  heat 
of  the  weather  began  to  be  intensely  felt,  the  victor  returned  to 
Cagliari.  That  heat  and  the  festivities  consequent  on  his  success 
threw  him  into  a  fever,  which,  though  not  in  itself  fatal,  he  is  said 
to  have  rendered  so  by  incontinence.  He  died  on  the  24th  of 
July,  1409,    leaving  his  queen,  Blanche  of  Xavarre,  as  regent. 

On  the  death  of  this  prince,  Martin  and  the  Aragonese  were 
anxious  to  name  a  successor  to  the  crown.  The  fierce  rivalry  of 
candidates  and  the  factions  which  began  to  agitate  the  kingdom   so 


260  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1410-1412 

(lisn-usted  Martin  that  to  disappoint  them  all,  though  advanced  in 
years,  he  married  Margarita,  daughter  of  the  Count  de  Prades,  and  a 
princess  of  the  royal  house  of  Aragon.  He  next  sent  troops  to 
pacify  Sardinia  and  Sicily,  which  were  again  torn  by  rival  dissen- 
sions. In  the  former  his  generals  were  successful  in  two  decisive 
engagements ;  in  the  latter  he  caused  the  regency  to  be  confirmed  in 
the  widowed  queen,  Blanche.  In  1410  he  died  without  issue,  and 
before  the  settlement  of  the  disputes  concerning  the  succession. 

The  death  of  Martin  was  followed  by  troubles  greater  than  any 
which  had  yet  afflicted  the  kingdom.  In  Aragon,  three  or  four  of 
the  most  powerful  enemies,  whose  dissensions  had  for  some  time 
disturbed  the  public  tranquillity,  openly  paraded  their  armed  parti- 
sans, declared  for  different  candidates,  and  made  war  on  each  other. 
To  end  these  violent  scenes  had  long  been  the  aim  of  the  wise  and 
good  among  all  parties ;  but  the  number  of  such  is  always  small, 
and,  during  the  tempest  of  civil  strife,  their  voice  is  seldom  heard. 
The  expedient  proposed  was  that  the  right  of  choosing  the  monarch 
should  be  intrusted  to  nine  arbitrators — three  from  each  of  the 
kingdoms.  The  choice  of  the  arbitrators  was  one  which  would 
have  been  attended  with  interminable  difficulties  had  it  been  left 
to  the  deputies  of  the  three  states.  But  confiding  in  their  power, 
the  assembly  of  Alcafiiz,  which  consisted  chiefly  of  Aragonese,  and 
the  parliament  of  Tortosa,  which  was  formed  of  Catalonians,  agreed 
that  these  arbitrators  should  be  nominated  by  the  viceroy  and  the 
grand  justiciary  of  Aragon.  Accordingly,  these  two  functionaries 
named  three  for  each  of  the  states,  all  eminent  legalists,  all  men  of 
unblamable  lives,  and  of  whom  all  would  have  been  unexception- 
able had  they  been  less  illegitimately  chosen.  As  two-thirds  of  the 
number  were  known  to  be  friendly  to  the  claims  of  the  infante 
Ferdinand,  the  result  might  easily  have  been  anticipated.  Having 
assembled  at  Caspe,  six  of  the  number  decided  for  Ferdinand — 
the  three  Aragonese,  two  Valencians,  and  one  Catalonian :  two  only 
voted  for  the  Count  de  Urgel,  and  one  refused  to  give  his  suffrage. 
Their  opinions  were  approved  by  the  parliaments  of  Aragon  and 
Catalonia,  and  were  not  very  much  disapproved  by  those  of  Va- 
lencia. Thus  when,  on  the  28th  of  June,  the  important  decision 
was  made  known  to  the  public  in  the  church  of  Caspe,  the  partial 
murmurs  whicli  were  raised  by  the  partisans  of  the  Count  of  Urgel 
were  drowned  in  the  loud  applause  of  the  multitude. 

However  illegal  the  construction  of  this  celebrated  and  novel 


ARAGON  261 

1412-1416 

tribunal,  no  fault  can  be  found  with  the  decision.  Ferdinand  was 
beyond  all  comparison  the  best  fitted  of  the  candidates  for  the  vacant 
dignity. 

The  arrival  of  Ferdinand  I. — of  a  prince  whose  administration 
had  been  distinguished  alike  for  its  internal  wisdom  and  its  triumph 
over  the  Mohammedans — increased  the  number  of  his  adherents, 
or  rather  disarmed  all  his  opponents,  except  a  small  band,  which 
still  adhered  to  the  Count  de  Urgel,  until  that  chief,  perceiving  the 
danger  of  resistance,  reluctantly  submitted.  He  was  acknowl- 
edged, not  only  by  the  three  Spanish  states,  but  by  Sicily,  in  the 
regency  of  which  he  confirmed  Queen  Blanche,  and  by  that  portion 
of  Sardinia  which  still  owned  the  supremacy  of  Aragon.  The  fol- 
lowing year  the  Viscount  de  Narbonne  surrendered  his  rights 
over  the  latter  island  for  a  certain  sum, — a  sum  very  ill  applied. 

But  the  Count  de  Urgel  had  no  intention  of  acknowledging  the 
new  sovereign,  though  that  sovereign  proposed  to  indemnify  him 
in  his  recent  losses,  and  even  to  marry  the  infante  Enrique,  son  of 
Ferdinand,  with  his  daughter.  The  count,  however,  who  had  re- 
ceived a  reinforcement  from  his  hereditary  domains,  marched  on 
Lerida ;  but  some  of  his  troops  were  defeated,  others  fell  from  him, 
and  he  was  invested  in  Balaguer.  The  place  was  so  vigorously 
pressed  that  in  the  end  he  left  it  and  surrendered  himself  to  the 
king's  mercy.  He  was  consigned  to  the  castle  of  Lerida,  whence 
he  was  afterwards  transferred  to  a  fortress  in  Castile.  By  the  as- 
sembled states  he  was  declared  a  traitor  and  a  rebel,  deprived  of  his 
domains,  and  sentenced  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  He  never  re- 
covered his  liberty. 

Ferdinand,  like  his  predecessors,  cast  a  longing  eye  on  Naples 
as  well  as  Sicily.  Knowing  that  Jane,  who  had  succeeded  to  that 
throne  on  the  death  of  her  brother  Ladislas,  was  inclined  to  a  union 
with  his  family,  he  made  overtures  to  her  in  favor  of  his  second 
son,  Juan ;  they  were  accepted,  the  marriage  conditions  arranged, 
and  tlie  infante  embarked  for  Sicily,  where  he  expected  to  meet  his 
intended  bride.  On  his  arrival,  however,  he  found,  to  his  mortifi- 
cation, that  the  queen, — an  extraordinary  instance  of  mutability 
even  in  her  sex,— had  precipitately  married  with  the  Count  de  la 
Marche,  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Bourbon.  That  the  infante  bore 
the  disappointment  with  indifference  is  probable,  as  he  soon  directed 
his  attentions  to  another  quarter,  the  widowed  Blanche,  and  through 
her  to  the  crown  of  Sicily.       His  subseciucnt  marriage  with  that 


262  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1416-1417 

princess  and  his  accession,  through  her,  to  the  throne  of  Navarre 
have  been  related  in  the  history  of  that  kingdom.  In  1416  death 
surprised  Ferdinand  at  Igualada. 

Alfonso  v.,  the  eldest  son  of  the  deceased  king,  gave  a  signal 
proof  of  magnanimity  or  of  prudence  immediately  after  his  acces- 
sion. Hearing  that  Antonio  de  Luna,  then  in  Guienne,  had  bribed 
several  nobles  of  Catalonia  and  Aragon  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the 
imprisoned  Count  de  Urgel,  whom  they  proposed  to  place  on  the 
throne,  and  being  presented  with  a  list  of  the  traitors'  names,  he 
not  only  refused  to  read  it,  but  tore  it  into  pieces.  Nor  was  his 
firmness  in  other  matters  less  remarkable. 

The  transactions  of  Alfonso  in  the  islands  and  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Italy  occupied  the  greater  part  of  his  reign,  though  they 
belong  rather  to  the  history  of  the  Two  Sicilies  than  to  that  of 
Spain ;  they  must  not  altogether  be  passed  over  in  silence,  since  a 
general  notice  of  them  is  necessary  towards  a  right  understanding 
of  the  position,  not  of  Aragon  only,  but  of  the  Spanish  monarchy, 
during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries. 

Though  the  investiture  of  Corsica  had  been  conferred  at  the 
same  time  as  that  of  Sardinia  on  a  preceding  king  of  Aragon,  and 
though  some  places  on  the  island  had  at  various  periods  been  held 
by  the  Aragonese,  the  conquest  of  the  whole  had  never  been  seri- 
ously attempted — doubtless  because  from  the  contiguity  of  the 
Genoese,  who  considered  themselves  its  lawful  sovereigns,  and  from 
the  never-ceasing  rebellions  of  the  Sardinians,  that  attempt  would 
have  appeared  hopeless.  In  14 17,  however,  some  Catalans  having 
come  into  collision  with  the  forces  of  the  republic,  Don  Alfonso 
meditated  tlie  conquest.  But  though  he  reduced  Calvi,  after  some 
fruitless  assaults  on  Bonifaccio,  which  the  Genoese  relieved,  he  was 
forced  to  abandon  the  siege  under  the  pretext  of  more  pressing  in- 
terests. The  pretext,  indeed,  was  not  without  foundation.  As 
usual,  the  troubles  of  Sardinia  were  renewed,  occasioned  by  the 
Genoese  and  by  the  partisans  of  the  viscount  de  Narbonne,  who 
complained  that  neither  Alfonso  nor  Ferdinand  had  fulfilled  the  con- 
ditions of  the  sale.  While  here,  occupied,  as  his  predecessors  had 
vainly  been,  in  striving  to  restore  tranquillity,  he  was  surprised  by 
the  solicitations  for  aid  from  Joan,  queen  of  Naples,  who,  as  re- 
lated in  the  previous  reign,  had  deceived  his  brother  Juan  by  marry- 
ing the  Count  de  la  ]\Iarche.  That  fickle  princess,  disgusted  alike 
with  her  husband  and  his  nation,  had  expelled  the  French  from  her 


ARAGON  263 

1417-1430 

dominions,  and  the  count  himself,  apprehensive  that  his  Hfe  was  in 
danger,  had  fled.  The  constable  Sforza,  jealous  of  the  influence 
possessed  by  the  minister,  Caraccioli,  had  offered  the  kingdom  to 
the  Due  d'Anjou,  provided  the  latter  would  appear  with  a  sufficient 
French  force.  The  alarmed  queen  proposed  to  Alfonso  to  adopt 
him  as  her  heir  (she  was  without  issue),  on  the  condition  of  his 
preserving  her  on  the  throne. 

In  the  meantime  the  Due  d'Anjou  had  sailed  from  Genoa 
with  an  armament,  invested  Naples,  and  ordered  his  fleet  to  defend 
the  entrance  into  the  port  against  the  expected  measures  of  the 
Aragonese.  But  on  the  approach  of  Alfonso's  admiral  the  duke 
raised  the  siege  and  retired  into  the  mountains.  The  king  himself 
now  hastened  to  that  capital,  and  was  received  by  the  queen  with 
extraordinary  honors:  his  adoption  was  celebrated  by  the  Neapoli- 
tan nobility,  and  he  was  put  in  immediate  possession  of  the  duchy  of 
Calabria.  But  however  successful  his  arms,  he  had  soon  reason  to 
find  how  just  had  been  the  representations  of  his  advisers.  The 
fickle  queen  began  to  regard  his  authority  with  jealousy,  and  even 
to  show  a  disposition  to  renew  her  alliance  with  France:  perhaps 
she  also  distrusted  his  ulterior  intentions;  at  least  she  made  them 
the  pretext  for  her  subsequent  conduct.  The  queen  retired  to 
Nola,  revoked  the  adoption,  and  applied  for  aid  to  the  French,  the 
Pope,  the  Genoese,  and  the  duke  of  Milan,  who  promised  to  raise 
forces  in  her  behalf.  Alfonso  now  returned  to  Spain,  to  procure 
the  liberation  of  his  brother  Enrique,  who  had  long  been  detained 
prisoner  by  Juan  II.  of  Castile.  Another  brother,  the  infante 
Pedro,  he  left  in  the  command  of  the  city  and  fleet;  yet  he  sailed 
with  a  force  sufficient  to  take  and  pillage  Marseilles,  a  portion  of 
which  he  consumed  by  fire. 

Having  procured  his  brother's  liberation,  made  peace  with  the 
Castilian  king,  and  seen  another  brother,  Juan,  the  husband  of 
Blanche,  raised  to  the  throne  of  Navarre,  Alfonso  again  turned  his 
attention  to  the  affairs  of  Naples.  It  was  almost  too  late,  as  that 
city  and  many  other  places  held  by  the  Aragonese  in  the  Neapolitan 
kingdom  were  recovered  immediately  after  his  departure  by  the 
allies  of  the  queen.  But  new  dissensions  with  Castile,  and,  per- 
haps, the  refusal  of  his  states  to  furnish  him  with  the  supplies  he 
demanded,  prevented  him  from  seriously  attempting  to  regain  his 
lost  dominion.  In  1430,  however,  hearing  that  the  Neapolitan 
queen,  with  something  more  than  the  characteristic  fickleness  of 


264  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1432-1435 

licr  sex,  had  quarreled  with  and  expelled  the  Due  d'Anjou, — who 
in  revenge  was  committing  hostilities  in  Apulia  and  the  Calabrias, — 
and  being  solicited  by  some  Neapolitans  to  appear  personally  in  the 
kingdom,  he  again  prepared  for  the  expedition.  In  1432  he  set  sail, 
leaving  the  regency  of  Catalonia  to  his  queen,  that  of  Aragon  and 
Valencia  to  his  brother,  the  king  of  Navarre.  After  a  successful 
attack  on  the  isle  of  Gerbes,  where  he  defeated  the  king  of  Tunis, 
the  piracies  of  whose  subjects  had  long  afflicted  his  coasts,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Sicily.  But  though  the  queen  actually  fulfilled  the  pro- 
posal, he  could  place  no  dependence  upon  her,  and  his  embarrass- 
ment as  to  what  he  should  do  was  increased  by  the  hostility  of  the 
new  pope,  Eugenius  III.,  of  the  Emperor  Sigismund,  of  the  duke  of 
Alilan,  of  the  Venetians,  Genoese,  and  Florentines,  of  whom  all 
were  at  this  time  in  the  interests  of  France.  He  resolved  to  wait  in 
his  kingdom  of  Sicily  the  course  of  events.  In  1434  the  Due 
d'Anjou  died,  but  this  event  availed  him  little  with  the  faithless 
queen,  who  adopted  Rene,  brother  of  the  duke,  as  her  successor  to 
the  throne.  The  following  year,  when  she  also  paid  the  debt  of 
nature,  Alfonso  passed  over  to  the  Italian  continent  with  the  de- 
termination of  seizing  the  kingdom.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pope 
claimed  it  as  a  fief  of  the  Roman  see,  and  promised  the  investiture 
to  Rene,  now  Due  d'Anjou.  Disembarking  at  Gaeta,  which 
was  garrisoned  by  the  troops  of  the  Genoese  republic  and  of  the 
duke  of  Milan,  Alfonso  pressed  the  siege  with  great  vigor.  A  fleet 
approached  to  relieve  the  place,  and  a  maritime  engagement  fol- 
lowed, in  which  he  was  not  only  signally  defeated,  but  he,  his 
brother  Juan  of  Navarre,  and  his  brother  Enrique,  so  famous  in  the 
Castilian  troubles,  were  taken  prisoners.  All  three  and  a  consider- 
able number  of  barons  were  conducted  to  the  city  of  Milan.  The 
.i:;enerosity  with  which  he  was  treated  by  that  prince,  who  considered 
liim  not  as  a  captive  but  as  a  guest,  is  deserving  of  the  highest 
admiration. 

No  sooner  was  the  captivity  of  Alfonso  known  than  the 
queen  convoked  the  states  to  deliberate  on  the  means  of  procuring 
his  enlargement.  But  the  arrival  of  his  brother,  the  king  of 
Xavarrc,  the  intelligence  which  followed  of  his  own  liberation  and 
that  of  his  nol)]cs,  without  ransom,  and  of  the  league,  offensive  and 
defensive,  liclween  the  two  princes,  dispelled  the  anxiety  of  the 
([ueen  and  nalic.n.  Instead  of  relinquishing  his  designs  on  Naples, 
this  new  alliance   furnished  him  with  means   for  their  execution. 


A  R  A  G  O  N  265 

1435-1458 

The  infante  Don  Pedro,  who  remained  in  Sicily,  in  compliance  with 
the  royal  orders,  besieged,  and,  partly  by  surprise,  gained  possession 
of  Gaeta.  The  states  of  Aragon,  Valencia,  and  Catalonia  voted 
large  supplies  for  the  war:  with  these  Alfonso  resumed  hostilities, 
and  soon  made  several  conquests.  The  thunders  of  the  church 
passed  harmless  over  his  head,  and  he  prosecuted  his  successes  to  the 
gates  of  the  capital.  The  operations  of  the  siege  were  frequently 
rendered  inefficient,  not  by  the  valor  of  the  besieged  so  much  as  by 
the  diversions  of  the  French  prince,  but  in  the  end  a  party  of 
Aragonese,  being  introduced  by  night  into  the  city,  seized  one  of 
the  towers,  and  the  following  day  the  place  was  carried  by  storm, 
the  duke  escaping  on  board  a  Genoese  frigate.  A  victory  over  the 
generals  of  the  republic  and  of  the  pope  followed,  and  this  con- 
strained the  submission  of  all  Calabria  and  Apulia.  Both  popes, 
Eugenius  IV.  and  Felix  V.,  w^re  now  willing  to  grant  him  the 
investiture  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  on  the  condition  of  his  recognizing 
each  exclusive  of  the  other.  He  accepted  the  offer  of  the  former, 
consented  to  hold  the  kingdom,  not  by  right  of  conquest,  but  as  a 
fief  of  the  Holy  See,  and  engaged  to  serve  his  liege  lord  in  the  re- 
covery of  the  march  of  Ancona.  In  return,  Eugenius  promised  to 
declare  legitimate  his  bastard  son  Ferdinand,  whom  he  designed  as 
his  successor  on  the  throne  of  Naples. 

As  a  return  for  the  papal  favor, — for  the  investiture  of  the 
kingdom  and  declaration  of  the  legitimacy  of  his  son, — Alfonso, 
during  the  following  years,  served  the  Holy  See  in  the  various  wars 
which  that  power  waged  with  its  neighbors.  During  his  long  ab- 
sence his  states  were  governed  by  his  brother  of  Navarre  and  his 
queen, — by  the  former,  whose  constant  aim  was  to  humble  the  king 
of  Castile,  with  little  benefit  to  the  realm.  His  conquests,  which 
their  blood  and  treasure  had  assisted  him  to  procure,  were  not  to  be 
united  with  his  Spanish  dominions,  but  to  be  held  as  a  separate  king- 
dom by  the  bastard  Ferdinand,  whom  he  had  made  duke  of  Cala- 
bria :  if  these  conquests  were  brilliant,  they  conferred  no  solid  ad- 
vantage either  on  him  or  his  people ;  nor  was  it  difficult  to  foresee 
that  they  would  form  a  perpetual  subject  of  dispute  between  his 
successors  on  the  one  part  and  the  pope,  the  Italian  princes,  and 
France   on  the  other. 

In  1458  Alfonso  was  seized  at  Naples  with  his  mortal  sick- 
ness. In  his  last  will  he  left  his  Spanish  dominions,  with  the 
Balearic  Isles,  Sardina  and  Sicily,  to  his  brother  Juan  of  Navarre, 


266  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1458-1466 

and  Naples  to  his  son  Ferdinand.  That  he  possessed  quaHties  of 
a  high  order, — unbending  courage,  perseverance,  capacity  of  mind, 
and  some  virtues, — is  admitted  by  all  his  biographers;  but  his 
neglect  of  a  virtuous  queen  for  an  Italian  mistress,  his  boundless 
ambition,  and  his  tortuous  policy  greatly  detract  from  the  admira- 
tion with  which  posterity  must  regard  him. 

Of  Juan  II.  so  much  has  been  related  in  the  histories  of  Castile 
and  Navarre  that  little  remains  to  be  said  here.  The  greater  part 
of  his  reign  was  occupied  in  wars  with  his  Catalonian  subjects  or 
Louis  XI.  of  France,  who  encouraged  them  in  their  rebellion. 
Knowing  how  much  they  resented  the  fate  of  Don  Carlos,  and  how 
great  a  progress  the  love  of  republican  institutions  had  made  among 
them,  in  1460,  the  latter,  who  had  an  eye  on  Roussillon  and  Nar- 
bonne,  began  to  urge  them  to  revolt,  promising  them  his  constant 
support.  Distrusting  the  perfidious  character  of  Louis,  they  sent  a 
deputation  to  Enrique  IV.  of  Castile,  offering  to  become  his  liege- 
men on  the  condition  of  his  joining  them  in  breaking  the  chain  of 
their  vassalage.  Enrique  accepted  the  offer,  was  proclaimed  at 
Barcelona,  and  sent  a  strong  body  of  troops  towards  the  frontiers. 
The  whole  principality  now  flew  to  arms  and  besieged  the  ob- 
noxious queen  in  Gerona.  At  this  period  the  Aragonese  king  was 
assisted  by  a  strong  body  of  French  troops,  and  by  money  advanced 
by  Louis,  who  was  put  in  temporary  possession  of  the  lordships  of 
Roussillon  and  Cerdafia.  Though  repulsed  in  the  attempt,  and 
soon  afterwards  defeated  by  Juan  in  person,  who  invested  Bar- 
celona, they  were  but  the  more  confirmed  in  their  resolution  of 
resistance.  Not  satisfied  with  heroically  defending  that  city,  an- 
other division,  having  effected  a  junction  with  the  Castilians,  again 
invested  Gerona,  though  without  effect.  They  soon  appear  to 
have  been  dissatisfied  with  the  aid  of  Enrique;  for,  in  1463,  they 
invited  Don  Pedro,  infante  of  Portugal,  and  descended  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  from  the  counts  de  Urgel,  to  receive  the  crown  of 
Aragon  and  Sicily.  He  accepted  the  invitation,  and  placed  himself 
at  their  head ;  but,  as  the  king  was  well  supported  by  the  Aragonese 
and  Valencians,  victory  generally  declared  for  the  rightful  cause. 
Hie  war,  however,  was  desultory  enough  to  continue  for  some 
years,  even  after  the  natural  death  of  Pedro  in  1466.  Their  next 
chief  was  the  Due  de  Lorraine,  son  of  the  Due  d'Anjou,  to  w^hom 
they  also  offered  the  crown,  Juan  was  not  daunted  at  the  menacing 
preparations  of  the  duke  and  in  the  obscure  hostilities  perpetually 


A  R  A  G  O  N  267 

1468-1473 

recurring  he  was  greatly  aided  by  his  Amazonian  queen,  who  had 
been  nursed  in  civil  dissensions,  and  whose  delight  was  in  the 
lield.^  The  infante  Ferdinand,  too,  soon  to  become  the  husband  of 
Isabella  of  Castile,  here  passed  his  apprenticeship  in  arms.  In  1468 
that  prince  was  declared  king  of  Sicily,  and  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  government  of  Aragon.  In  1470  the  duke  died,  while 
soliciting  reinforcements  from  France,  and  thus  rid  Juan  of  a 
formidable  and  active  enemy.  Though  the  Catalans  in  general 
were  induced  to  return  to  their  duty,  a  desperate  faction  at  Barce- 
lona preferred  submitting  to  the  king  of  France.  At  the  siege 
of  Paralada  Juan  ran  imminent  risk  of  his  life.  Paralada  having 
finally  submitted,  Barcelona  alone  remained  in  rebellion  and  it  was 
invested  by  the  king.  The  following  year  (1472),  while  this  city 
persisted  in  its  defense,  the  province  of  Ampourdan,  which  the 
duke  of  Lorraine  had  reduced,  was  recovered  by  the  Aragonese.  At 
length,  through  the  clemency  of  Juan,  who  promised  to  pass  an  act 
of  oblivion  for  all  offenses  and  to  confirm  the  inhabitants  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  ancient  privileges,  the  place  capitulated,  and  re- 
bellion was  at  an  end.  The  year  afterwards  the  people  of  Per- 
pignan  rose  against  the  French  garrisons,  which  they  put  to  the 
sword,  and  their  example  was  followed  by  those  of  Elne,  who  were 
no  less  disgusted  with  the  troops  of  Louis. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  French  king  would  quietly 
suffer  the  loss  of  these  places.  His  army  marched  against  Perpi- 
gnan,  into  which  Juan  threw  himself.  The  siege  was  prosecuted 
with  spirit,  but  the  approach  from  Castile  of  the  infante  Ferdinand 
caused  the  French  to  retire.  Though  the  place  was  invested  a 
second  time,  the  attempt  was  equally  unsuccessful,  and  Louis,  who 
had  other  enemies,  was  compelled  to  suspend  his  designs  on  this 
province  and  consent  to  peace.  No  sooner  were  his  arms  at  liberty 
than  he  prepared  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities.  To  meet  the  coming 
storm,  Juan  applied  for  aid  to  his  nephew  Ferdinand,  king  of  Naples, 
to  whom,  in  consequence  of  such  aid  being  readily  afforded,  he  gave 
the  hand  of  his  daughter  Joanna.  Elne,  however,  was  soon  re- 
duced by  the  overwhelming  forces  of  Louis ;  Perpignan  shared  the 
same  fate;  and  Juan,  whose  son  Ferdinand  was  too  much  occupied 
in  the  troubles  of  Castile  to  assist  him,  was  compelled  to  consent  to 
a  truce;  nor  could  he,  during  his  short  remaining  reign,  recover 
those  places  from  the  enemy. 

1  Slie  was  the  dangliter  of  the  constable  of  Castile,  the  second  wife  of  Juan, 
and  the  mother  of  the  infante  Ferdinand. 


268  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1473-1483 

By  this  peace  Sardinia  and  Sicily  were  declared  forever  united 
to  the  crown  of  Aragon;  the  latter  island  was  internally  tranquil 
under  the  achninistration  of  his  viceroys ;  the  former,  on  one  occasion 
at  least,  vindicated  its  prescriptive  right  to  rebel ;  but  the  disaffected 
were  crushed,  and  the  estates  of  their  leaders  confiscated  to  the 
crown.  While  Juan  was  thus  harassed  by  the  French,  by  his  disputes 
with  Aragon,  and  the  rebellion  in  Catalonia,  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised that  his  kingdom  was  frequently  in  commotion.  The  turbu- 
lent nobles  of  Aragon  and  Valencia  required  a  firm  hand  to  restrain 
them.  Don  Jayme  of  Aragon,  a  prince  of  the  royal  house,  also  col- 
lected several  bands  of  outlaws,  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and 
seized  on  some  important  fortresses :  he  was,  however,  invested  in 
Muela  by  the  viceroy  of  Valencia,  was  taken  prisoner,  conducted  to 
Barcelona,  and  beheaded. 

On  the  death  of  Juan  in  1479  Ferdinand  II.  was  immediately 
acknowledged  by  the  three  Spanish  states.  As  his  transactions  with 
the  Mohammedans,  the  Castilians,  Portuguese,  and  Navarrese  have 
already  been  related,  nothing  remains  but  to  advert  to  such  as  could 
not  be  classed  among  the  events  of  those  kingdoms. 

Soon  after  his  accession  Ferdinand  was  naturally  anxious  to 
procure  the  restitution  of  Roussillon  and  Cerdafia.  But  to  his 
pressing  embassies  on  this  subject  Louis  XI.  returned  evasive 
answers.  His  successor,  Charles  VIII.,  though  eager  to  preserve  a 
good  understanding  with  the  monarch  who  united  all  Spain  under 
his  scepter,  was  loath  to  restore  a  province  the  possession  of  which, 
in  the  event  of  future  wars,  would  be  invaluable.  But  when  Fer- 
dinand, indignant  at  the  evasions  of  Charles,  began  to  arm  for  the 
recovery  of  this  frontier,  the  latter,  who  meditated  the  conquest 
of  Naples,  and  who  wished  to  have  no  enemies  to  harass  France 
during  his  absence,  commanded  Perpignan  and  the  fortresses  of  the 
province  to  be  evacuated  by  the  French  troops :  they  were  immedi- 
ately occupied  by  those  of  Aragon. 

The  severity  of  Ferdinand,  king  of  Naples,  had  long  been  borne 
with  dissatisfaction  by  the  people.  Their  discontent  appeared  to 
the  French  king  an  excellent  opportunity  for  vindicating  the  claims 
of  his  family  on  that  country  and  for  gratifying  an  ambition  which 
was  seldom  restrained  by  considerations  of  justice.  He  was  the 
more  confirmed  in  his  purpose  when  several  Neapolitan  nobles, 
through  disgust  witli  their  ruler,  sought  his  protection  and  offered 
t(j  aid  him  in  gaining  possession  of  so  fair  a  kingdom.     There  was 


A  R  A  G  O  N  269 

1492-1496 

another  party  equally  dissatisfied  with  the  tyrant,  but  not  at  the 
outset  equally  favorable  to  Charles.  These  applied  to  the  king  of 
Aragon  with  the  same  view  as  their  countrymen  had  applied  to  the 
Gallic  monarch ;  and  it  was  only  when  the  former  received  their 
message  with  some  displeasure  that  they  joined  his  rival.  The  death 
of  the  Neapolitan  king  and  the  accession  of  his  son  Alfonso,  in 
1494,  produced  no  change,  either  on  the  intentions  of  Charles  or 
the  disaffection  of  the  people:  Alfonso  was  as  unpopular  as  Fer- 
dinand. In  alarm  at  the  preparations  of  the  Frenchmen  and  the 
suspected  hostility  of  the  pope,  the  new  king  implored  the  aid  of 
his  Spanish  brother  and  received  the  assurance  he  solicited.  In  the 
meantime  Charles  invaded  Italy  by  way  of  Grenoble  and  passed 
through  Pavia  and  Florence  direct  on  Rome.  Having  forced  the 
pope  into  his  interests,  he  continued  his  march  towards  Naples. 
Alfonso,  terrified  at  the  approaching  danger  and  convinced  how 
much  his  subjects  wished  for  his  overthrow,  abdicated  in  favor  of 
his  son  Ferdinand,  who,  he  hoped,  would  be  able  to  rally  them 
round  the  national  standard,  and  retired  to  a  monastery  in  Sicily. 
The  hope  was  vain. 

But  Ferdinand  of  Spain  was  not  idle:  by  his  ambassadors  at 
Venice  he  formed  a  league  with  the  pope,  the  republic,  the  duke 
of  Milan,  and  the  fugitive  Frederic  for  the  expulsion  of  the  French 
from  Italy.  At  this  time  Don  Gonsalo  de  Cordova,  the  captain  of 
Ferdinand,  who  had  acquired  distinction  in  the  wars  of  Granada, 
commenced  his  brilliant  career.  The  rapidity  with  which  he  re- 
duced many  of  the  fortified  places  and  triumphed  over  the  French 
generals  on  the  field  drew  the  attention  of  Europe  towards  this 
part  of  Italy.  His  exploits  at  the  very  first  campaign  procured  him 
the  appellation  of  the  Great  Captain.  The  Calabrias  were  soon  en- 
tirely forced  from  the  invaders,  who  were  glad  to  take  refuge  in 
the  states  of  the  church  until  tlie  arrival  of  the  exj^ected  succor 
from  France.  The  restored  king  did  not  long  survive  his  success : 
the  fatigues  of  the  campaign  consigned  him,  in  1496,  to  the  grave. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  uncle  Frederic,  son  of  the  first  Aragonese 
king  of  Naples.  To  the  new  monarch  Gonsalo  continued  the  same 
eminent  services,  and  not  infrequently  the  pope  made  use  of  his 
valor  in  humbling  tlie  temporal  enemies  of  tlie  church.  The  king 
of  France  in  vain  attempted,  by  way  of  diversion,  to  withdraw  the 
attention  of  Ferdinand  from  the  affairs  of  Italy,  by  the  powerful 
armaments  which  he  frcfjuently  moved  on   Roussillon:  he   found 


270  STAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1498-1504 

the  Spanish  king,  as  usual,  prepared  both  to  defend  the  frontiers 
and  to  secure  the  crown  on  the  head  of  Frederic. 

But  in  that  relative's  behalf  Ferdinand  soon  ceased  to  be  in- 
terested. For  his  progressive  coolness  towards  that  prince,  various 
reasons  have  been  assigned :  the  chief  one  has  been  omitted, — the 
king's  all-grasping  ambition,  which  sometimes  took  no  counsel  from 
justice.  On  hearing  that  Louis  XII.,  the  successor  of  Charles,  w^as 
preparing  to  arm  for  the  recovery  of  Naples,  he  besought  that 
monarch  to  desist  from  the  undertaking;  and  when  he  found  that 
solicitations  were  useless,  he  was  unprincipled  enough  to  propose 
a  division  of  the  whole  kingdom.  Louis  eagerly  seized  upon  the 
proposal,  and  the  royal  robbers  immediately  entered  into  negotia- 
tions for  adjusting  their  respective  share  of  the  spoils.  At  first  the 
city  and  kingdom  of  Naples  were  adjudged  to  Louis,  the  two  Cala- 
brias  and  the  Abruzzo  to  Ferdinand :  the  revenue  arising  from  the 
pasturage  of  Apulia  was  to  be  divided  between  them.  But  a  dispute 
arising,  a  new  division  was  effected :  the  latter  assigned  the  two 
Calabrias  and  Apulia  to  the  Spanish  king,  Naples  and  the  Abruzzo 
to  the  Frenchman.  To  preserve  harmony  in  other  quarters,  Louis 
agreed  at  the  same  time  to  relinquish  his  claims  over  Roussillon 
and  Cerdana,  and  Ferdinand  over  Montpellier.  Both  sovereigns 
sent  powerful  armaments  to  execute  this  iniquitous  compact. 

While  the  French  troops  on  one  side  and  the  great  captain  on 
the  other  were  seizing  his  provinces,  it  was  impossible  for  Frederic, 
with  a  people  so  disaffected  and  cowardly  as  the  Neapolitans,  to 
make  head  against  them.  As  Louis  promised  to  allow  him  a  pen- 
sion suitable  to  his  rank,  he  sought  an  asylum  in  France.  Scarcely 
were  the  armies  in  possession  of  the  country  when  their  leaders 
began  to  quarrel  about  the  precise  extent  of  their  respective  terri- 
tories. As  each  longed  to  seize  the  portion  held  by  the  other,  an 
appeal  to  arms  only  could  decide  their  pretensions.  A  bloody  war 
followed ,  the  details  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  Italian  histories 
of  the  period  and  the  more  recent  work  of  Sismondi.  It  exhibits 
little  beyond  a  continued  succession  of  victories  for  the  great  cap- 
tain, who  triumphed  over  the  veteran  general  and  armies  of  France; 
it  ended,  in  1504,  in  the  entire  subjugation  of  the  kingdom  by  the 
Spaniards. 

Into  the  interminable  affairs  of  Italy,  from  this  time  to  the 
death  of  I'^erdinand,  the  ever  varying  alliances  between  the  pope,  the 
emperor,  the  Venetians,  and  the  kings  of  France  and  Spain,  and 


ARAGON 


271 


1510 


their  results,  as  they  had  not  any  influence  over  Spain — scarcely, 
indeed,  any  connection  with  it — we  forbear  to  enter.  We  need  only 
observe  that  Spain  retained  uninterrupted  possession  of  her  con- 


SPANISH    DOMINION  IN 

leTM  CENTURY 


quest,  the  investiture  of  which,  in  1510,  was  conferred  by  the  pope, 
as  a  fief  of  the  church,  on  Ferdinand. 

During  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  inquisition  was  introduced 
into  Aragon.  This  introduction  was  strongly  but  ineffectually  op- 
posed by  both  the  Valencians  and  the  /Vragonese — by  none  more 
bitterly  than  the  inhabitants  of  Saragossa. 


Chapter    XIII 

ESTABLISHMENT    OF    PORTUGUESE 
KINGDOM.      1095— 1516 

DURING  the  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  centuries  most  of 
northern  Portugal  was  subject  to  local  governors  de- 
pendent on  the  counts  of  Galicia.  But  though  the  chief 
fortresses  in  the  provinces  Entre  Minho  e  Douro  and  Tras  os 
Montes,  and  generally  those  of  Beira,  were  frequently  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Christians,  the  Mohammedans  sometimes  seized  and 
occupied  such  as  lay  contiguous  to  their  own,  until  expelled  by  a 
superior  force.  Thus  Coimbra,  Viseu  and  Lamego,  which  had 
been  reduced  by  Alfonso  I.  and  his  immediate  successors,  were  re- 
covered in  997  by  the  great  Almansor:  in  1027  King  Alfonso  V. 
of  Leon  fell  before  the  second  of  these  places,  the  siege  of  which 
was  in  consequence  abandoned;  but  in  1057  both  it  and  Lamego 
were  recovered  by  his  son-in-law,  Ferdinand  L,  and  the  following 
year  Coimbra  shared  the  same  fate.  In  1093  Santarem,  Lisbon, 
and  Cintra  were  reduced  by  Alfonso  VI.,  the  famous  conqueror 
of  Toledo,  whose  arms  were  generally  so  successful  against  the 
misbelievers.  As  these  conquests  were  continually  exposed  to  the 
irruptions  of  the  Almoravides,  in  1095  that  monarch  conferred 
the  government  of  Portugal  from  the  Minho  to  the  Tagus,  and  the 
right  of  conquering  as  far  as  the  Guadiana,  on  Henri  of  Besancon, 
who  in  1072  had  married  his  illegitimate  daughter  Teresa,  and 
to  whose  arms  he  had  been  so  much  indebted  for  many  of  his  recent 
successes. 

The  nature  of  the  authority  conferred  on  the  new  count  has 
been  a  matter  of  much  controversy  between  the  Castilian  and 
Portuguese  writers.  While  the  latter  maintain  that  the  conces- 
sion of  Alfonso  was  full  and  entire, — a  surrender  of  all  feudal 
claims  over  the  country  which  the  count  was  to  govern  in  full 
sovereignty, — the  former  no  less  zealously  contend  that  the  gov- 
ernment was  to  be  held  as  a  fief,  hereditary  indeed,  but  no  less 
dependent  on  the  crown  of  Leon.  It  is  unreasonable  to  suppose 
cither  that  the  king  w  as  willing,  or,  if  willing,  that  his  nobles  would 

2T2 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  273 

1095-1137 

allow  him  to  dismember  at  once  and  forever  so  fair  a  territory 
from  his  crown,  and  that  too  in  favor  of  a  stranger  and  an  ille- 
gitimate daughter — for  illegitimate  she  was,  notwithstanding  the 
allegations  to  the  contrary  by  some  Portuguese  writers,  who  sel- 
dom regard  truth  if  unpalatable  to  their  national  vanity.  That 
Portugal  was  conferred  as  a  dependent  fief  is  also  confirmed  by 
the  disputes  between  its  early  sovereigns  and  those  of  Leon, 
the  former  striving  to  maintain  tlieir  avowed  independence,  the 
latter  to  reduce  them  to  their  reputed  original  vassalage. 

The  administration  of  Henri  was  vigorous  and  his  military 
conduct  glorious.  His  triumphs  over  the  Mohammedans  were 
frequent,  whether  achieved  in  concert  with  his  father-in-law, 
Alfonso  or  by  his  own  unaided  arm ;  several  of  the  reguli  in  the  for- 
tresses south  and  east  of  the  Tagus  he  reduced  to  the  condition  of 
tributaries.  In  1 107  he  constrained  Ali  ben  Yussef,  son  of  the  first 
emperor  of  the  Almoravides,  to  raise  the  siege  of  Coimbra.  Nor 
were  his  efforts  to  crush  rebellion,  whether  of  his  local  Christian 
governors  or  of  his  Mohammedan  vassals,  less  successful.  One 
of  his  last  acts  was  to  assist  his  natural  sovereign,  Urraca,  against 
her  husband  the  king  of  Aragon.  He  died  in  11 12,  leaving  many 
ecclesiastic  structures  enriched  by  his  liberality. 

During  the  minority  of  Alfonso,  the  son  of  Henri,  who  at 
his  father's  death  was  only  in  his  second  year,  the  administration 
of  the  kingdom  was  assumed  by  the  widowed  Teresa.  The  char- 
acter of  this  princess  is  represented  as  little  superior  to  that  of  her 
sister  Urraca :  the  same  violence,  the  same  unbridled  passions,  and 
the  same  unnatural  jealousy  of  her  son,  appear,  though  in  a  degree 
undoubtedly  less  criminal,  to  have  distinguished  her  conduct.  Yet 
on  that  sister  and  her  nephew,  the  successor  of  Urraca,  she  some- 
times made  war,  in  the  hope  of  profiting  by  the  dissensions  of  the 
period :  on  every  occasion  she  was  repulsed,  and  was  forced  to  sue 
for  peace.  Alfonso,  whom  she  had  rigorously  endeavored  to 
exclude  from  all  participation  in  public  affairs,  undertook  to  wrest 
the  sovereignty  from  her  hands.  He  succeeded,  and  the  queen  was 
compelled  to  surrender  the  reins  of  government  into  the  hands  of 
her  son,  while  her  favorite  or  husband  fled  into  Galicia.  Teresa 
survived  her  fall  about  two  years. 

The  new  count  was  destined  to  prove  a  more  formidable  enemy 
to  the  Mohammedans  than  even  his  able  father.  During  the  first 
years  of  his  administration    he  was  at  variance  with  his  cousin. 


274  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1137-1146 

Alfonso  VII.,  whose  Galician  territories  he  invaded,  and  with 
whose  enemy  (the  king  of  Navarre)  he  entered  into  an  alHance. 
But  though,  in  1137,  he  obtained  a  considerable  advantage  over  a 
detachment  of  Alfonso's  army,  he  was  little  able  to  contend  with  that 
prince. 

In  1 139  the  count  assembled  his  army  at  Coimbra,  resolved  to 
reduce  the  fortresses  west  of  the  Guadiana,  which  had  before  ac- 
knowledged the  kings  of  Badajoz,  and  which  were  now  dependent 
on  the  Almoravides,  The  Mohammedan  governor  of  that  impor- 
tant place  not  only  summoned  all  his  brethren  of  the  neighboring 
provinces  to  arms,  but  procured  a  powerful — we  are  told  a  vast — 
reinforcement  from  Africa,  and  advanced  towards  the  plains  of 
Ourique,^  where  the  Christians  had  penetrated,  and  where  they  lay 
encamped.  But  Alfonso,  who  knew  the  advantages  of  his  position, 
and  who,  perhaps,  perceived  that  retreat  would  be  impracticable  or 
fatal,  resolved  to  await  the  approaching  assault.  But  though  Count 
Alfonso  was  thus  prepared  for  the  strife,  he  could  not  disregard  its 
issue  without  emotion.  That  in  this  battle  he  obtained  an  imperish- 
able victory  over  the  countless  Africans,  an  incredible  number  of 
whom  were  left  dead  on  the  field  or  destroyed  in  the  pursuit,  is 
indubitable.  Whether  his  assumption  of  the  royal  dignity  pre- 
ceded or  followed  this  glorious  success  has  been  matter  of  dispute : 
it  is  more  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  while  exulting  over  the 
destruction  of  the  enemy,  his  grateful  and  enthusiastic  people  pro- 
claimed him  on  the  field.  Notwithstanding  the  fabulous  circum- 
stances with  which  superstition  and  imposture  have  disfigured  the 
relation,  the  plains  of  Ourique  will  be  venerated  so  long  as  patriot- 
ism and  valor  are  held  in  esteem  among  men. 

Alfonso  I.,  of  the  house  of  Burgundy,  after  his  elevation  to  the 
dignity  which  he  had  long  sought,  and  of  which  he  had  shown  him- 
self so  deserving,  was  not  likely  to  relax  in  his  hostilities  against  the 
Aloors.  Though  Santarem  had,  with  other  places,  been  reduced  by 
Alfonso  VI.,  it  must,  in  the  sequel,  have  been  recovered  by  the 
Almoravides,  as,  in  1146,  we  find  the  Portuguese  king  intent  on 
regaining  it.  As  the  fortifications  were  strong  and  the  defenders 
numerous,  he  caused  a  small  but  resolute  band  to  scale  the  walls  by 
night:  scarcely  had  twenty-five  reached  the  summit  of  the  wall, 
when  the  Moorish  inhabitants  took  the  alarm  and  flew  to  arms. 

1  In  the  province  of  Alemtejo,  abont  two  hours'  brisk  ride  from  the  frontiers 
of  Algarve,  and  the  same  distance  west  of  the  Guadiana. 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  275 

1146-1167 

In  vain ;  one  of  the  gates  was  opened  by  the  Christians,  and  the  rest 
of  the  assailants  rushed  in.  In  an  hour  this  important  fortress,  one  of 
the  great  bulwarks  of  Christian  Lusitania,  was  in  possession  of  the 
victor.^  His  success,  and  the  embarrassment  of  the  Mohammedan 
princes  of  Spain,  both  on  account  of  the  rising  power  of  the  Almo- 
hades  in  Africa,  and  of  the  hostilities  of  the  kings  of  Leon  and  Cas- 
tile, emboldened  him  to  attempt  the  recovery  of  Lisbon.  That  city 
was  invested;  but  the  valor  of  the  defenders  and  the  strength  of  the 
walls  would  doubtless  have  compelled  him  to  raise  the  siege,  had 
not  a  succor  arrived  which  no  man  could  have  expected.  This  was 
a  fleet  of  crusaders,  chiefly  of  English,  under  the  command  of 
William  Longsword,  who  was  hastening  to  the  Holy  Land.  The 
Portuguese  king  had  little  difticulty  in  persuading  them  that  the 
cross  had  no  greater  enemies  than  the  Mohammedans  of  Spain,  and 
that  the  recovery  of  Lisbon  would  be  no  less  acceptable  to  Heaven 
than  that  of  the  Syrian  towns :  the  hope  of  plunder  did  the  rest ;  the 
crusaders  disembarked  and  joined  in  the  assault.  Five  months 
later  the  city  was  carried  by  storm ;  a  prodigious  number  of  the 
Moors  were  put  to  the  sword ;  the  crusaders  were  too  much  enriched 
to  dream  of  continuing  their  voyage ;  so  that,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  who  received  lands  in  Portugal,  the  remainder  returned  to 
their  own  country. 

But  the  Mohammedans  had  still  possession  of  one-half  of  Por- 
tugal and  of  several  strong  fortresses.  Having  reduced  Cintra, 
Alfonso  passed  the  Tagus  and  seized  on  several  fortified  places  in 
Estremadura,  and  even  in  Alemtejo.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
1 1 58  that  he  seriously  attempted  the  reduction  of  Alcazar  do  Sal, 
which  fell,  after  a  vigorous  resistance  of  two  months.  In  1165 
Cesimbra  and  Palmela  were  invested :  the  former  place  was  speedily 
taken ;  while,  before  the  latter,  he  had  to  encounter  a  strong  force 
sent  to  relieve  it  by  the  Moorish  governor  of  Badajoz.  The  mis- 
believers were  defeated,  and  many  places  made  to  surrender. 

The  martial  character  of  the  Portuguese  king,  as  well  as  the 

-  Of  course,  there  must  be  a  miracle  in  every  great  feat  of  the  Portuguese. 
Santarem  was  recovered  by  tlie  prayers  of  St.  Bernard,  then  in  France,  in  honor 
of  whose  rule  the  king  had  vowed  to  foimd,  and  royally  to  endow,  the  monas- 
tery of  Alcobaga.  The  saint  arose  the  very  night  Santarem  was  taken,  called 
some  of  his  disciples,  and  bade  them  speed  away  for  Portugal,  to  receive  the 
donation  which  King  JJ>on  Alfonso  was  ready  to  make  his  order.  After  the  fall 
of  Lisbon  the  vow  was  right  royally  fulfilled :  a  monastery  was  built,  and  en- 
dowed with  the  seigniory  over  thirty-(Mie  towns  and  villages  :  it  was  enlarged  and 
beautified  by  succeeding  kings ;  so  that  in  time  it  was  able  to  contain  looo  monks. 


2T6  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1167-1181 

almost  iininterrtipted  success  of  his  arms,  inclined  him  to  perpetual 
war — whether  with  Moors  or  Christians  appears  to  have  given 
him  little  concern.  In  1167  he  seized  on  Limia,  a  territory  of  Gal- 
icia,  which  he  claimed  on  the  ground  of  its  having  formed  part 
of  his  mother's  dowry.  The  following  year  he  advanced  against 
Badajoz,  the  Moorish  governor  of  which  was  a  vassal  of  the  king 
of  Leon.  Ferdinand  IL  hastened  to  its  relief ;  but  before  his  arrival 
the  Portuguese  standard  floated  on  the  towers.  Nevertheless  the 
restless  Mohammedans  resumed  their  incursions  into  his  territories. 
Though  these  incursions  w-ere  repressed  by  the  valor  of  his  son,  Dom 
Sancho,  who,  not  content  with  defending  Portugal,  penetrated  into 
the  Moorish  territory,  to  the  very  outskirts  of  Seville,  his  people 
could  not  fail  to  suffer  from  the  ravages  of  the  misbelievers.  This 
irruption,  too,  had  its  ill  effect;  it  so  much  incensed  Yussef  abu 
Yacub,  the  emperor  of  the  Almohades,  that  he  dispatched  a  consider- 
able force  into  the  kingdom.  The  discomfiture  of  this  army  under 
the  walls  of  Abrantes,  and  the  exploits  of  Dom  Fuas  Roupinho,  one 
of  Sancho's  captains,  preserved  the  country  indeed  from  the  yoke 
of  the  stranger,  but  not  from  the  devastation :  Alemtejo,  above  all, 
suffered  in  this  vindictive  warfare. 

This  Dom  Fuas  is  too  celebrated  in  Portuguese  history  to  be 
dismissed  without  a  passing  notice.  Being  intrusted  with  the  de- 
fense of  Porto  de  Mos,  a  fortress  which  w^as  furiously  assailed  by 
a  numerous  body  of  the  Andalusians  and  Almohades,  he  left  a 
sufficient  garrison  in  the  place,  while  with  the  rest  he  proceeded  to 
the  neighboring  forts  to  demand  succor.  On  his  return  he  halted 
on  the  sierra  which  overlooked  the  fortress,  and  exulted  greatly 
to  see  with  what  valor  his  soldiers  were  repelling  an  assault  of  the 
enemy.  Those  who  wxre  with  him,  in  the  fear  that  their  comrades 
might  in  the  end  give  way,  thought  this  a  favorable  opportunity 
for  attacking  the  misbelievers  in  flank;  but  he  restrained  their  ardor, 
in  the  certainty  that  the  place  would  continue  to  hold  out.  At 
nightfall,  however,  when  the  fatigued  ]\Ioors  had  retired  to  their 
tents,  he  told  his  Christian  companions  that  now  was  the  time  to 
discomfit  an  enemy  whom  God  had  put  into  their  hands.  They 
descended  the  hill,  fell  on  the  sleeping  Moors,  whom  they 
slaughtered  with  impunity;  a  few  only  are  said  to  have  escaped. 
His  valor  rendered  him  so  agreeable  to  King  Alfonso,  that  he  was 
placed  over  a  srjuadron  destined  to  avenge  the  piratical  descents  of 
the  misbelievers  on  the  western  coast  of  the  kingdom,  especially 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  277 

1181-1211 

in  the  neighborhood  of  Setubal  and  Lisbon.  With  equal  success 
did  he  triumph  on  this  new  element;  for,  not  satisfied  with  de- 
stroying the  hostile  fleet,  he  even  assailed  the  Barbary  coast. 

The  successive  defeat  of  his  best  troops  made  Yussef  resolve 
to  pass  over  into  Spain  and  take  the  field  in  person.  His  death, 
before  Santarem,  has  been  related  in  the  history  of  the  Moham- 
medan peninsula.  This  was  the  last  occasion  on  which  the  Lusita- 
nian  king  put  on  his  armor.  He  died  at  the  close  of  the  year  1185. 
His  memory  is  held  by  the  Portuguese  in  the  highest  veneration, 
and  hints  are  not  obscurely  given  that  he  merited  canonization. 

Sancho  I.,  the  eldest  surviving  son  of  Alfonso,  had  soon  to 
sustain  the  denunciation  of  the  pope  for  marrying  his  daughter 
Teresa  to  her  cousin,  Alfonso  IX.,  king  of  Leon.  As  the  royal  pair, 
notwithstanding  the  expressed  command  of  the  pontiff,  continued 
to  live  together,  the  latter  laid  an  interdict  on  both  the  kingdoms  of 
Leon  and  Portugal.  The  complaints  of  both  people  were  loud 
and  general.  Indeed,  the  affliction  seemed  to  bear  most  heavily  on 
them,  and  Sancho's  hostility  toward  the  church  rendered  him  vastly 
unpopular. 

The  transactions  of  Sancho  with  the  Moors  were  not  destined 
to  be  so  glorious  as  those  of  his  father.  Though,  by  the  aid  of  some 
crusaders,  whom  a  tempest  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  port  of  Lis- 
bon, he  took  Silves  in  Algarve;  and  though,  in  1190,  he  defended 
that  fortress  with  success  against  the  power  of  the  African  emperor ; 
yet  when  that  emperor  arrived  in  person  (possibly  the  expedition 
into  Portugal  might  be  headed  by  the  son  of  Yacub  ben  Yussef), 
the  tide  of  Lusitanian  conquest  began  to  ebb.  Silves,  Almeida, 
Palmela,  and  Alcagar  do  Sal,  Coimbra,  Cesimbra,  and  many  other 
towns  were  taken ;  many  more  were  leveled  with  the  ground ;  no- 
where durst  the  Portuguese  attempt  to  arrest  the  destructive  torrent ; 
and  though  the  INIohammedans  at  length  retired  to  humble  the 
Christians  on  the  plains  of  Alarcos,  a  generation  was  scarcely 
sufficient  to  repair  the  mischiefs  they  had  done.  Famine  and  pesti- 
lence next  visited  the  people,  who,  in  their  blindness,  attributed  their 
misfortunes  to  the  incestuous  marriage  of  their  infanta  with  the 
Leonese  king.  Their  complaints  effected  what  the  pope  had  at- 
tempted in  vain — the  separation  of  the  royal  pair.  It  was  followed 
by  a  misunderstanding  between  Sancho  and  Alfonso,  which  the 
common  danger  of  Christian  Spain,  and  tlie  earnest  remonstrances 
of   tlie   church,   could   scarcely  prevent    from   exploding.     On   the 


278  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1211-1217 

restoration  of  outward  harmony  the  Portuguese  monarch  recovered 
most  of  the  places  which  the  Africans  had  reduced ;  an  enterprise  in 
which  he  was  again  fortunately  assisted  by  a  crusading  armament. 

The  tranquillity  which  the  kingdom  continued  to  enjoy  greatly 
assisted  Sancho  in  his  beneficent  designs  of  encouraging  population, 
and  of  alleviating  the  distresses  of  his  people.  Towards  the  close  of 
his  reign  he  appears  to  have  again  incurred  the  censure  of  the 
church,  by  encouraging  certain  marriages  within  the  forbidden 
degrees, — among  others,  that  of  a  son  with  one  of  his  nieces, — • 
and  to  have  shown  some  violence  towards  the  ecclesiastics  who  con- 
demned them.  His  subsequent  repentance  doubtless  occasioned  his 
reconciliation  with  the  ofif ended  pontiff.  He  died  in  121 1.  In  his 
last  will  he  bequeathed  great  riches  to  his  children,  and  made  his 
successor,  Alfonso,  swear  to  observe  his  dispositions. 

Alfonso  n.  had  no  sooner  ascended  the  throne  than  he  showed 
a  disposition  to  evade  the  execution  of  his  father's  will.  Not  only 
did  he  refuse  to  allow  his  brothers  the  money  which  had  been  be- 
queathed them,  but  he  insisted  on  the  restitution  of  the  fortresses 
which  belonged  to  his  two  sisters,  the  saints  Teresa  and  Sancha; 
and  on  their  refusal  to  surrender  them  he  seized  them  by  force. 
In  the  sequel,  Alfonso  of  Portugal,  at  the  command  of  the  pope  and 
doubtless  through  fear  of  the  Leonese,  consented  to  treat  with  his 
sisters.  By  the  papal  commissioners  it  was  agreed  that  the  for- 
tresses in  dispute  should  be  held  for  the  princesses  by  the  Templars, 
but  subject  to  the  royal  jurisdiction ;  and  that,  on  the  demise  of  the 
two  feudatories,  they  should  revert  to  the  crown. 

The  transactions  of  Alfonso  with  the  Mohammedans  were  not 
so  remarkable  as  those  of  his  predecessors — a  circumstance  that 
must  be  attributed  not  to  his  want  of  military  spirit,  but  to  his  ex- 
cessive corpulency,  which  rendered  the  fatigues  of  the  field  intoler- 
able. Though  he  sent  a  handful  of  troops  to  aid  in  the  triumphs 
of  the  Navas  de  Tolosa,  he  did  not  take  the  field  in  person  against 
the  enemies  of  his  faith  until  12 17,  when  the  arrival  in  his  ports 
of  another  crusading  armament,  which  promised  to  co-operate  in 
his  designs,  roused  him  to  attempt  the  reduction  of  Alcagar  do  Sal, 
a  place  that  still  remained  in  the  power  of  the  misbelievers.  It  held 
out  till  the  end  of  September,  when  a  strong  Mohammedan  army 
arrived  to  relieve  it.  Notwithstanding  the  disproportion  in  num- 
bers, the  Christians  resolved  to  hazard  a  general  action,  especially 
(in  receiving  a  reinforcement  from  Alfonso  of  Leon.     Alca(,-ar  was 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  279 

1220-1245 

again  recovered;  and  the  Mohammedans  who  had  remained  in 
Alemtejo,  and  were  pressing  the  siege  of  several  fortresses,  were 
compelled  to  retire. 

During  the  last  three  years  of  his  reign  Alfonso  had  new  dis- 
putes with  the  church.  He  appears  to  have  borne  little  respect  for  the 
ecclesiastical  immunities,  some  of  which  were,  indeed,  inconsistent 
with  the  interests  of  the  community.  Alfonso  insisted  on  church- 
men heading  their  own  vassals  in  the  wars  he  undertook,  and  such 
as  refused  were  compelled  to  go.  The  archbishop  of  Braga,  like 
Becket  of  the  preceding  century,  remonstrated  with  the  king,  and 
when  remonstrances  were  ineffectual,  hurled  at  the  head  of  his 
abettors  the  thunders  of  the  church.  In  return  he  was  deprived  of 
his  revenues,  and  compelled  to  consult  his  present  safety  by  flight. 
The  afflicted  people  now  endeavored  to  effect  a  reconciliation  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  archbishop :  the  former  promised  to  make 
satisfaction  and  in  future  to  respect  the  privileges  of  the  church ; 
he  was  accordingly  absolved  and  the  interdict  removed,  but  before 
he  could  fulfill  his  share  of  the  compact  he  was  surprised  by  death. 

Sancho  II.,  having  reluctantly  promised  to  respect  the  im- 
munities of  the  church,  prepared  to  extend  the  boundary  of  his 
dominions  at  the  expense  of  the  Mohammedans.  He  recovered 
the  important  town  of  Elvas,  which  had  been  regained  by  the  Moors  : 
next  Jarumenha  and  Serpa  yielded  to  his  arms.  He  appears  to 
have  left  the  enemy  no  fortified  places  in  Alemtejo :  the  frontier 
fortresses  of  that  province,  thus  rescued  from  the  infidels,  he  in- 
trusted to  the  defense  of  the  order  of  Santiago,  who  made  success- 
ful irruptions  into  Algarve,  and  triumphed  in  several  partial  engage- 
ments. Tavira,  Faro,  and  Louie  were  reduced  by  these  knights ; 
and  when  the  Aloorish  governor  of  Silves  attempted  to  aid  his 
co-religionists,  he  lost  his  capital,  and  immediately  afterwards  his 
life.  These  successes  of  the  Christians  will  be  readily  admitted, 
when  we  remember  that  while  the  fortresses  of  Algarve  were  thus 
won,  Ferdinand  of  Leon  and  Castile  was  prosecuting  his  glorious 
career  in  Andalusia,  and  thereby  precluding  all  hope  of  aid  from  the 
rest  of  ]\Iohammcclan  Spain,  which  was  soon  to  be  confined  within 
the  narrow  limits  of  Granada. 

In  his  domestic  administration  Dom  Sancho  was  doomed  to  be 
far  less  fortunate.  Fr(jni  his  infancy  he  appears  to  have  been  of  a 
weak  constitution  and  of  a  still  weaker  mind;  but  if  he  was  weak, 
we   have   no   proof  that   he   was   vicious,   though   great   disasters 


280  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1244-1248 

afflicted  his  kingdom,  and  the  historians  of  his  country  have  stigma- 
tized his  memory.  His  hostihty  to  the  immunities  of  the  clergy 
appears  to  have  been  the  first  and  chief  cause  of  his  unpopularity. 
This,  however,  would  not  have  led  to  the  events  which  followed 
had  he  not  overstepped  the  line  of  prudent  reform  and  claimed  for 
the  crown  prerogatives  which  the  church  could  not  allow  to  any 
monarch.  At  length,  both  clergy  and  the  people  united  their  mur- 
murs: they  perceived  that  the  king  was  too  feeble  to  repress  the 
daily  feuds  of  his  barons,  who  broke  out  into  open  war  and  com- 
mitted the  greatest  excesses.  The  contempt  with  which  their 
remonstrances  were  treated  passed  the  bounds  of  human  endurance, 
and  they  applied  to  Innocent  IV.,  then  presiding  over  a  general 
council  at  Lyons,  to  provide  a  remedy  for  such  evils.  The  appli- 
cation was  readily  received  by  the  pontiff,  who,  in  concert  with  the 
fathers  of  the  council,  issued  a  decree  by  which,  though  the  royal 
title  was  left  to  Sancho,  the  administration  was  declared  to  be 
vested  in  the  infante  Alfonso,  brother  of  the  king. 

No  sooner  did  Alfonso  hear  of  this  extraordinary  proceeding 
of  the  pope  and  council,  than  he  prepared  to  vindicate  the  title  which 
it  had  conferred  upon  him.  He  was  then  at  Boulogne-sur-Mer,  the 
lordship  of  which  belonged  to  him  in  right  of  his  wife  Matilda. 
Having  sworn  before  the  papal  commissioners  to  administer  Portu- 
gal with  justice,  and  leaving  the  government  of  Boulogne  in  the 
hands  of  his  countess,  he  embarked  at  that  port  and  safely  landed  at 
Lisbon.  At  first  the  king  intended  to  oppose  the  infante;  but  see- 
ing how  generally  the  deputies  owned  him, — how  all  classes,  nobles 
and  citizens,  prelates  and  peasants,  joined  his  brother, — he  retreated 
into  Spain  to  solicit  the  support  of  his  cousin,  Ferdinand  III.  As 
that  saintly  monarch  was  too  busy  in  the  Andalusian  wars  to  assist 
tlie  fugitive  king  in  person,  he  recommended  the  interests  of  his 
guest  to  his  son  Alfonso.  The  Castilian  infante  showed  no  want  of 
zeal  in  behalf  of  his  relative.  He  first  applied  to  the  pope  for  the 
restoration  of  the  royal  exile,  and  when  he  found  the  application 
useless,  he  collected  a  considerable  army  and  invaded  Portugal. 
The  Castilian  infante,  however,  led  back  his  army,  and  the  deposed 
monarch,  now  bereft  of  all  hope,  retired  to  Toledo,  where,  early  in 
1248,  he  ended  his  days.  So  long  as  the  latter  lived,  some  of  the 
fortified  places  in  Portugal  refused  to  acknowledge  the  regent;  but 
on  his  death  without  issue, — there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  ever 
married, — his  brother  was  peaceably  acknowledged  as  his  successor. 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  281 

1248-1262 

Alfonso  III.,  on  arriving  at  a  height  which,  a  few  years  before, 
his  ambition  could  scarcely  have  reached,  was  not  without  apprehen- 
sions that  the  Castilian  king  or  infante  might  trouble  him  in  his 
usurpation,  and  assembled  the  three  estates  of  his  realm  to  deliberate 
on  the  means  of  defense.  Fortunately  for  his  ambition  both  father 
and  son  were  absorbed  by  their  Andalusian  conquests.  To  secure, 
if  possible,  the  good-will  of  the  former,  he  sent  a  considerable  aid 
to  the  Christian  camp,  which  was  readily  received  by  the  hero. 
In  the  meantime  he  himself  resolved  to  profit  by  the  reverses  of 
the  misbelievers  and  finish  the  conquest  of  Algarve.  At  the 
head  of  a  sufficient  force,  he  accordingly  penetrated  into  that 
province,  and  speedily  recovered  the  places  which  the  Mohammedans 
had  again  surprised.  In  a  subsequent  expedition ,  his  ardor  or 
avarice  led  him  to  encroach  on  the  possessions  of  Alfonso  el  Sabio, 
Ferdinand's  successor.  The  wall  or  regulus  of  Niebla,  perceiving 
that  hostilities  were  directed  against  him,  implored  the  aid  of  his 
liege  superior,  the  king  of  Leon  and  Castile.  The  latter  enjoined 
the  Lusitanian  not  to  molest  ^Mohammed.  The  instruction  appears 
to  have  been  disregarded ;  for  the  Castilian  army  immediately 
marched  against  the  Portuguese,  who  were  compelled  to  retreat. 
The  Castilian  king  did  not  stop  here.  On  the  pretext  that  Algarv'e, 
as  chiefly  conquered  by  his  subjects,  the  knights  of  Santiago,  be- 
longed to  him,  he  invaded  that  province,  and  quickly  reduced  its 
chief  fortresses.  The  Portuguese  was  glad  to  sue  for  an  accommo- 
dation, and  it  was  at  length  agreed  that  he  should  marry  Dona 
Beatrix  de  Guzman,  a  natural  daughter  of  the  Castilian,  and 
with  her  received  the  sovereignty  of  Algarve.  The  marriage  was 
solemnized  in  1254,  and  a  few  years  afterwards  Portugal  was  de- 
clared forever  free  from  homage  to  the  Castilian  kings. 

From  the  facility  with  which  this  matrimonial  connection  was 
formed,  it  would  be  inferred  that  the  Lusitanian  had  become  a 
widower.  But  the  Countess  Matilda  still  lived  and  was  anxious 
to  return  to  her  lord.  lie  pleaded  that  the  former  marriage  re- 
mained null ;  her  only  defects  were  her  barrenness  and  her  age, — 
two  which,  though  no  canonist  would  recognize,  were  sufficient  in 
the  mind  of  so  unscrupulous  a  prince  as  Alfonso.  The  lady  applied 
for  the  restoration  of  her  rights ;  he  refused  to  recognize  tliem : 
she  sailed  for  Portugal  to  plead  them  in  person ;  but  he  refused  to 
sec  her:  and  when  at  length  she  forced  her  way  into  his  presence 
he  heard,  unmoved,  her  entreaties,  her  expostulations,  and  threats; 


282  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1262-1279 

and  witnessed,  unmoved,  a  grief  which  would  have  softened  the 
heart  of  any  other  man.  The  queen  (for  such  history  must  call 
her)  retired  to  Boulogne,  and  laid  her  complaints  before  the  pope 
and  her  liege  superior,  St.  Louis.  After  a  patient  examination  of 
the  case,  Alexander  IV.  expedited  a  bull  by  which  he  declared 
Matilda  the  lawful  wife  of  Alfonso  and  annulled  the  recent  mar- 
riage with  Dona  Beatrix.  The  king  persevered  in  his  lust,  as  he  had 
already  done  in  his  usurpation,  even  when  excommunicated  by  the 
pope;  and  he  and  his  household  were  interdicted  from  the  offices  of 
the  church.  In  his  conduct  towards  this  devoted  lady  there  is 
something  that  must  strike  every  reader  with  indignation.  She 
had  married  him  when  poor — when  almost  an  exile  from  his  native 
court — and  had  thereby  raised  him  to  power  and  riches :  and  her 
unshaken  attachment — unshaken  even  by  his  sickening  ingratitude 
— proves  that  though  the  empire  of  the  passions  had  ceased,  she 
possessed  an  uncommon  share  of  woman's  best  feeling.  Her  last 
act,  by  which  she  bequeathed  a  considerable  sum  to  this  faithless 
deserter,  was  characteristic  enough  of  her  ruling  misfortune.  On 
her  death,  in  1262,  his  prelates  readily  obtained  from  the  pope  a 
bull  to  render  legitimate  the  present  marriage  and  the  issue  arising 
from  it. 

The  rest  of  this  prince's  reign  was  passed  in  ignoble  disputes, 
either  with  his  prelates,  in  relation  to  the  ecclesiastical  immunities, 
which  he  had  the  wish  but  not  the  power  to  limit,  or  wnth  his  mili- 
tary orders,  whose  possessions  he  justly  considered  too  ample.  In 
the  latter  case,  a  compromise  procured  him  what  he  coveted :  in  the 
former,  the  papal  thunders  were  too  much  for  him ;  and  he  was 
forced  to  express  contrition  for  his  sacriligious  deeds.  Like  all 
usurpers,  Alfonso  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign  was  lavish  of  gifts, 
and  still  more  of  promises :  when  his  throne  was  established  by  his 
brother's  death  he  appeared  in  his  true  colors — a  rapacious  and 
unprincipled  tyrant.  His  opposition  to  the  injurious  privileges  of 
the  church  arose  not  from  any  regard  to  the  interests  of  his  people, 
but  from  avarice,  or  the  lust  of  power.     He  died  in  1279. 

Dinis,  like  his  deceased  father  and  most  of  his  predecessors, 
was  embroiled  with  the  church.  He  showed  little  disposition  to 
observe  the  concessions  of  the  late  king;  and,  as  usual,  his  punish- 
ment was  excommunication  and  the  imposition  of  an  interdict. 
Finding  by  the  experience  of  preceding  kings  that  the  church,  how- 
ever protracted  his  resistance,  must  eventually  triumph,  he  wisely 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  283 

1280-1324 

endeavored  to  obtain  conditions  as  the  price  of  his  voluntary  sub- 
mission. 

In  the  troubles  which  afflicted  Castile  during  the  reigns  of  San- 
cho  IV.  and  Ferdinando  IV.,  Dom  Dinis  took  a  part — sometimes  by- 
granting  asylum  to  the  rebels,  sometimes  by  arming  in  their  cause 
and  making  hostile  irruptions  into  the  neighboring  kingdom.  At 
length,  through  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Constanza  v^ith  the 
youthful  Ferdinand,  he  became  the  friend  of  the  Castilian  govern- 
ment. 

As  if  Heaven  had  decreed  that  the  guilty  conduct  of  Dinis  in 
fomenting  rebellion  among  his  neighbors  should  be  visited  on 
his  own  head,  in  1299  one  of  his  brothers  openly  rebelled.  Though 
this  ill-planned  disturbance  was  soon  quelled,  and  was  followed  by 
some  years  of  internal  tranquillity,  new  troubles  arose  in  his  son 
and  heir  Alfonso.  The  king  had  a  natural  son,  Alfonso  Henriques, 
who  appears  to  have  possessed  an  undue  share  of  his  affections  and 
on  whom  he  lavished  the  chief  favors  of  the  crown.  The  heir 
loudly  exclaimed  against  this  evident  partiality  as  unjust  towards 
himself,  and  even  asserted  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  king  to 
procure  the  legitimacy  of  the  bastard  and  exclude  him  from  the 
throne.  That  such  a  design  was  ever  formed  is  exceedingly  im- 
probable :  it  was  indignantly  disavowed  by  the  father,  who  solicited 
the  pope  to  interfere  and  deter  the  partisans  of  the  prince  from 
resorting  to  arms.  But  though  the  pontiff  called  on  the  Portu- 
guese to  set  aside  Alfonso  from  the  succession  if  lie  persisted  in  his 
undutiful  course,  the  menace  had  no  effect  on  the  latter.  This 
state  of  hostilities,  with  actual  encounters  of  their  two  armies, 
continued  for  years  in  spite  of  the  prayers  and  remonstrances  of 
the  queen-mother  Isabel.  At  length  she  persuaded  both  to  suspend 
their  differences.  Alfonso  retired  to  Santarem,  where  he  passed 
some  months  in  his  usual  manner,  without  regard  to  the  sufferings 
of  the  people,  caused  by  the  rapacity  and  violence  of  his  creatures. 
That  place  had  always  been  a  favorite  residence  of  the  king.  In  1324 
he  paid  it  a  visit,  after  acquainting  his  son  with  his  intentions,  and 
protesting  that  he  did  not  mean  to  incommode  anyone  during  his 
short  stay.  But  he  was  accompanied  by  his  illegitimate  son,  whom 
he  had  not  only  recalled  to  court,  but  restored  to  a  high  office  in 
the  household.  As  usual,  the  jealousy  of  the  prince  vented  itself 
in  murmurs:  the  king  retorted,  and  a  quarrel  ensued,  in  wliich  the 
attendants  of  both  took  a  part   and  in  which  blood  was  shed.     As 


284  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1324-1327 

the  party  of  Alfonso  increased  the  king  was  at  length  constrained 
a"-ain  to  dismiss  the  obnoxious  bastard,  to  depose  the  justiciary  of 
the  kingdom — a  person  peculiarly  hateful  to  the  prince — and  to 
accord  tlie  latter  a  considerable  addition  to  his  revenues. 

Dom  Dinis  did  not  long  survive  this  reconciliation  with  his  un- 
dutiful  son.  On  his  return  to  Lisbon  he  sickened  and  remained  in 
that  state  till  his  death.  It  is  some  consolation  to  find  that,  before 
his  departure,  he  solicited  and  obtained  a  visit  from  Alfonso;  and 
that  both  met  with  sentiments  not  merely  of  mutual  forgiveness, 
but  of  affection.  Dinis  was  a  superior  prince :  with  great  zeal  in 
the  administration  of  justice  he  combined  a  liberality  truly  royal, 
and  a  capacity  of  mind  truly  comprehensive.  In  1284  he  laid  in 
Lisbon  the  foundation  of  a  university;  but  in  1308,  finding  that  the 
students  were  more  addicted  to  the  pleasures  of  a  capital  than  to 
the  fatigues  of  science,  he  obtained  the  pope's  permission  to  transfer 
it  to  Coimbra. 

Alfonso  IV.,  surnamed  the  Brave,  had  scarcely  grasped  the 
reins  of  sovereignty  when  he  exhibited,  in  a  manner  little  becom- 
ing royalty,  his  vindictive  feelings  towards  his  illegitimate  brother, 
Alfonso  Henriques,  who,  to  escape  his  wrath,  had  just  fled  into 
Castile.  That  brother,  by  a  sentence  of  the  new  king,  was  deprived 
of  his  honors  and  lordship  of  Albuquerque,  which  he  had  held 
through  his  marriage  with  an  heiress  of  that  house,  and  was  in 
addition  condemned  to  perpetual  exile.  His  first  step  was  to  write 
a  supplicatory  letter  to  Alfonso,  whose  anger,  by  ardent  and  prob- 
ably sincere  protestations  of  allegiance  and  duty,  he  hoped  to  dis- 
arm; but  when  he  found  that  these  were  despised,  he  resorted  to 
arms.  Having  collected  some  troops  in  Castile,  and  been  joined 
by  a  prince  of  that  kingdom,  he  entered  Portugal,  laid  waste  the 
frontiers,  put  to  the  sword  every  living  being  that  fell  in  his  way, 
and  defeated  the  grand  master  of  Avis,  who  attempted  to  arrest 
his  progress.  The  king  now  took  the  field  in  person,  demolished 
Albuquerque,  and  laid  waste  the  neighboring  territories  of  Castile. 
These  harassing  though  indecisive  hostilities  might  have  continued 
for  years  had  not  Santa  Isabel  left  her  retreat  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Clair,  which  she  had  founded,  and  prevailed  on  her  son  to 
permit  the  return  of  the  exile. 

1  he  first  twelve  years  of  Alfonso's  reign  were  distracted  by 
hostilities  with  his  namesake  of  Castile,  who.  as  before  related,  was 
the  husband  of  his  daughter.     Though  these  hostilities  were  chiefly 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  285 

1327-1339 

owing  to  the  perversity  of  the  infante  Juan  Manuel,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  the  Portuguese  king  had  abundant  reason  for  dissatis- 
faction with  his  son-in-law.  The  usage  experienced  by  the  Cas- 
tilian  queen  at  the  hands  of  her  husband,  her  mortification  at  seeing 
a  mistress,  Leonora  de  Guzman,  not  only  preferred  to  herself,  but 
the  sole  depository  of  the  royal  favor,  the  studied  insults  to  which 
she  was  daily  exposed  both  from  her  husband  and  his  minion,  at 
length  exhausted  her  patience,  and  drew  forth  some  complaints  to 
her  father.  The  influence,  too,  which  don  Juan  Manuel  obtained 
in  the  Portuguese  court  through  the  marriage  of  his  repudiated 
daughter  Constanza  with  Pedro,  son  and  heir  of  the  Lusitanian 
king,  was  uniformly  exerted  to  embroil  the  two  crowns.  The  most 
unjustifiable  and  least  politic  act  of  the  Castilian  was  his  detaining 
the  princess  Constanza  in  his  kingdom  and  consequently  preventing 
her  from  joining  her  husband.  To  the  indignant  remonstrances  of 
the  Lusitanian,  he  returned  answers  studiously  evasive — anxious 
to  avert  hostilities,  yet  no  less  resolved  to  persevere  in  detaining  the 
princess.  Alfonso  of  Portugal  now  sent  a  herald  at  arms  to  defy 
his  son-in-law,  on  the  ground,  both  of  the  unjust  treatment  of  the 
queen,  whom  her  husband  was  suspected  of  seeking  to  repudiate, 
and  of  the  continued  detention  of  Constanza.  His  next  step  was 
to  enter  Castile,  to  invest  Badajoz,  and  ravage  the  country  as  far 
as  the  vicinity  of  Seville.  But  on  that  almost  impregnable  for- 
tress he  could  make  little  impression,  and  he  reluctantly  raised  the 
siege.  The  war  was  now  as  destructive  as  it  was  indecisive  and  even 
inglorious :  it  was  one  of  mutual  ravage,  of  shameless  rapine,  and 
unblushing  cruelty.  At  length,  through  the  efforts  of  the  com- 
mon father  of  Christendom,  the  two  princes  agreed  to  a  truce  and 
to  the  opening  of  negotiations  for  peace.  But  one  of  the  conditions 
was  the  removal  of  Leonora  de  Guzman;  a  condition  which  Alfonso 
of  Castile,  who  was  entirely  governed  l)y  that  lady,  was  in  no  dis- 
position to  execute.  Hostilities  would  probably  have  continued 
during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  had  not  the  preparations  of  the 
Mohammedans,  which  he  knew  were  chiefly  directed  against  him- 
self, and  the  loud  complaints  of  his  own  sulijects,  forced  him  reluc- 
tantly to  promise  that  it  should  be  conceded.  Xegotiations  were 
re-opened,  and  with  a  much  fairer  prospect  of  success.  To  the 
departure  of  Constanza.  tlie  restitution  of  some  insignificant  for- 
tresses wln'ch  had  been  reduced,  and  even  to  tlie  return  of  his  queen, 
the   Castilian   felt   no   repugnance ;  but   though   he  consented   for 


286  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1340-1354 

Leonora  to  leave  the  court,  he  recalled  her  immediately  after  the 
conclusion  of  peace.  To  his  queen,  however,  he  no  longer  exhib- 
ited a  marked  neg^lect :  on  the  contrary,  he  treated  her  with  all  the 
outward  respect  due  to  her  character  and  station ;  and  the  good 
understanding  was  confirmed  by  her  admirable  moderation. 

In  the  wars  which  the  Castilians  had  to  sustain  against  the 
Mohammedans,  the  Portuguese — so  nobly  did  he  forget  his  wrongs 
when  the  interests  of  Christendom  were  at  stake — was  no  inefficient 
ally.  Finding  that  his  first  aid  of  300  lances  was  inadequate  to 
the  formidable  preparations  of  the  African  and  Spanish  Moors,  he 
himself  hastened  to  the  headquarters  of  his  son-in-law.  As  he  ap- 
proached Seville,  the  joy  caused  by  his  arrival  was  such  that  the 
clergy  met  him  in  procession  singing,  "  Beatus  qui  venit  nomine 
Domini ! "  ^  He  was  present  at  the  great  battle  on  the  banks  of 
the  Salado  in  which  the  barbaric  power  was  so  signally  humbled. 
Though  he  had  nobly  borne  his  part  in  the  triumphs  of  the  day, 
he  refused  to  have  any  other  share  in  the  immense  plunder  won  on 
that  occasion  than  the  standard  and  some  trifling  personal  effects 
of  Abul  Hassan.  And  if  after  this  splendid  victory  he  returned  to 
his  own  dominions,  he  did  not  cease  to  send  reinforcements  to  his 
ally.  This  aid  he  continued  readily  to  supply,  until  the  death  of 
Alfonso   by  the  plague,  before  Gibraltar,  in  1350. 

The  tragedies  represented  in  Castile  by  Pedro  the  Cruel,  suc- 
cessor of  Alfonso  XL,  were  fully  equalled  by  one  in  Portugal. 
Soon  after  his  marriage  with  Constanza,  daughter  of  Don  Juan 
Manuel,  Pedro,  the  infante  of  Portugal,  had  become  passionately 
smitten  with  one  of  her  attendants,  Dona  Lies  de  Castro,  a  lady  of 
surpassing  beauty,  and  frail  as  beautiful.  That  he  made  love  to 
her,  and  that  his  criminal  suit  was  favorably  received,  is  indubitable, 
both  from  the  deep  grief  which  preyed  on  the  spirits  of  Constanza, 
and  from  the  anxiety  of  the  king  lest  this  new  favorite  should  be 
the  cause  of  the  same  disturbances  in  Portugal  as  Leonora  de 
Guzman  had  occasioned  in  Castile.  After  Constanza's  death, 
which  was  doubtless  hastened  by  sorrow,  he  privately  married  the 
seductive  favorite  in  January,  1354.  It  also  appears  that  a  papal 
dispensation  was  obtained  for  this  ceremony,  and  that  it  took  place 
at  Lraganza  in  the  presence  of  a  Portuguese  prelate  and  his 
own  chamljcrlain.  However  secret  this  step,  it  was  suspected  by 
some  courtiers,  who,  partly  through  envy  at  the  rising  favor  of 
"  "  lilcsscd  is  he  who  comcth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord!" 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  287 

1354-1355 

the  Castros,  and  partly  through  dread  of  the  consequences  which 
might  ensue,  endeavored  to  prevail  on  the  king  to  interfere  in 
behalf  of  young  Ferdinand,  the  son  of  Pedro  and  Constanza,  and 
the  lawful  heir  to  the  monarchy.  With  the  view  of  ascertaining 
whether  a  marriage  had  really  been  effected,  the  prince  was  urged 
to  take  a  second  wife  from  one  of  the  royal  families  of  Europe;  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  rejected  the  proposal  confirmed  the  sus- 
picion. But  mere  suspicion  was  not  enough.  The  prince  was 
summoned  to  court,  compelled  to  a  private  interview  with  his  father, 
and  urged,  in  the  most  pressing  terms  to  declare  whether  his  con- 
nection with  Dona  Ines  was  one  of  matrimony  or  gallantry.  He 
solemnly  and  repeatedly  replied  that  she  was  not  his  wife,  but  his 
mistress ;  yet,  when  the  entreaty  was  renewed  that  he  would  aban- 
don so  guilty  an  intercourse,  he  firmly  refused.  The  king  now 
secretly  consulted  with  his  confidential  advisers  as  to  the  precautions 
he  ought  to  adopt  in  regard  to  young  Ferdinand,  since,  from  the 
boundless  influence  possessed  over  the  mind  of  Pedro  by  Doiia 
Ines,  it  was  feared  that  the  true  heir  would  be  set  aside  from  the 
succession  in  favor  of  her  offspring.  Unfortunately,  both  for  his 
own  fame  and  for  the  interests  of  the  kingdom,  Alfonso  consulted 
with  such  only  as  were  personally  hostile  to  the  lady :  they  did  not 
scruple  to  assure  him  that  unless  she  were  forcibly  removed, 
the  state  after  his  death  would  become  a  prey  to  all  the  horrors  of 
a  disputed  succession.  We  are  told  that  his  soul  revolted  at  the 
deed,  but  that,  in  the  end,  they  wrung  from  him  a  reluctant  consent 
to  her  death.  The  time,  however,  which  elapsed  from  the  for- 
mation to  the  execution  of  this  murderous  purpose  proves  that  pity 
was  a  contending  sentiment  in  his  breast.  That  purpose  was  not  so 
secret  as  to  escape  two  friends  of  Pedro, — his  mother,  the  queen 
Beatrix,  and  the  archbishop  of  Braga.  Both,  in  the  design  of 
averting  the  catastrophe,  warned  him  of  the  plot;  but  he  disre- 
garded the  intimation — doubtless  because  he  could  not  believe  that 
the  royal  mind  of  his  father  could  be  contaminated  by  the  guilt  of 
murder,  and  because  he  considered  the  warning  as  a  feint  to  procure 
his  separation  from  Ines.  After  the  lapse  of  some  months  the 
king,  hearing  that  his  son  had  departed  on  a  hunting  excursion  for 
a  few  days,  hastily  left  Alonte  Mor,  and  proceeded  to  the  convent  of 
St.  Clair,  at  Coimbra,  where  she  then  was.  On  learning  his  ap- 
proach, she  at  once  apprehended  his  object.  Her  only  resource  was 
an  appeal  to  his  pity.     Taking  her  three  cliildren  by  the  hand,  she 


288  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1355-1356 

issued  from  the  convent  to  meet  him,  prostrated  herself  at  his  feet, 
and  in  the  most  pathetic  terms  begged  for  mercy.  Her  beauty,  her 
youth,  her  deep  emotion,  and  the  sight  of  her  offspring, — his  own 
grandchildren, — so  affected  him,  that  after  a  struggle  between  policy 
and  nature,  the  latter  triumphed  and  he  retired.  No  sooner,  how- 
ever, was  he  in  private  with  his  confidants  than  they  censured  his 
compassion,  though  natural  in  itself,  as  ruinous  in  its  consequences 
to  his  family  and  kingdom.  By  their  artful  representations  they 
not  only  confirmed  him  in  his  original  purpose,  but  obtained  his  con- 
sent that  they  should  be  entrusted  with  its  immediate  execution. 
Accordingly  they  hastened  to  the  convent,  and  the  unfortunate, 
guilty  Ines  fell  beneath  their  daggers. 

The  fate  of  this  lady  has  called  forth  the  deepest  commisera- 
tion of  novelists  and  poets,  and  has  given  rise  to  some  vigorous 
effusions  of  the  tragic  muse.  But  her  crimes  have  been  carefully 
thrown  into  the  shade.  The  woman  who  could  consent  to  a  crim- 
inal connection  with  a  married  man — the  object  of  an  amiable  wife's 
love ; — who  by  her  guilt  broke  the  heart  of  that  excellent  princess ; 
who,  before  the  remains  of  that  princess  were  cold,  renewed  the 
criminal  intercourse;  and  who,  during  so  many  successive  years, 
was  the  ready,  nay,  eager  creature  of  his  lust,  must,  by  unbiased 
posterity,  be  regarded  with  anything  but  respect.  Her  tragical  end 
must  indeed  command  our  sympathy,  and  cover  her  assassins  with 
abhorrence;  but  let  not  these  natural  sentiments  blind  us  to  her 
crimes. 

When  Pedro  returned  from  the  chase  and  found  his  wife  so 
barbarously  murdered,  his  grief  was  surpassed,  if  possible,  by  his 
thirst  for  revenge.  He  leagued  himself  with  the  kindred  of  Ines, 
and  though  he  could  not  fall  on  the  murderers,  who  were  protected 
by  the  king,  he  laid  waste  the  provinces  of  Entre  Douro  e  IMinho, 
and  Tras  os  Montes,  where  their  possessions  chiefly  lay.  King 
Alfonso  was  in  consternation  at  the  unexpected  fury  of  his  son. 
It  was  probably  at  his  suggestion  that  the  queen,  accompanied  by 
several  prelates,  hastened  into  Tras  os  Montes.  They  represented, 
but  without  effect,  to  the  prince  the  madness  of  desolating  an 
inheritance  which  must  soon  be  his :  he  threatened  to  continue  his 
hostilities  until  the  murderers  were  delivered  up  to  him.  To  such 
a  demand  Alfonso  could  not  consent;  but  in  the  end  he  proposed,  as 
the  price  of  reconciliation,  that  the  obnoxious  nobles  should  be  ban- 
ished from  the  court, — .perhaps  also  from  the  kingdom, — and  his 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  289 

1356-1360 

son  admitted  to  the  chief  share  of  the  administration.  Pedro  ac- 
cepted it,  laid  down  his  arms,  and  proceeded  to  court,  where  he  was 
received  with  an  affection  truly  paternal,  and  where  he  engaged, 
though  with  a  fixed  resolution  of  breaking  the  engagement,  never 
to  seek  revenge  on  the  assassins  of  Dona  Ifies. 

Alfonso  did  not  long  survive  this  forced  reconciliation  with 
his  son.  His  death,  which  happened  at  the  beginning  of  1357,  is 
said  to  have  been  hastened  by  remorse  for  the  tragical  deed  of 
which  he  had  been  the  occasion.  He  had  been  a  disobedient  son, 
an  unjust  brother,  and  a  harsh  father.  The  rebellion  of  his  son 
was  but  fit  retribution  for  his  own  conduct  to  the  royal  Dinis.  Dur- 
ing his  reign  (in  1348)  Portugal  was  afflicted  with  the  plague, 
which  spread  throughout  most  of  Europe,  but  which  raged  with 
more  violence  in  that  kingdom  than  anywhere  else.  Whole  towns 
are  said  to  have  been  left  desolate,  and  some  priests  to  have  aban- 
doned their  flocks  to  the  care  of  the  monks. 

Pedro  I.  was  scarcely  established  on  the  throne  before  he  gave 
way  to  his  uncontrollable  desire  for  vengeance  on  the  murderers  of 
Doiia  Ihes.  Knowing  that  they  had  sought  protection  in  Castile, 
and  how  eager  his  namesake  of  that  country  was  for  the  surrender 
of  several  Castilians,  who,  in  like  manner,  had  obtained  an  asylum 
in  Portugal,  he  seems  from  the  beginning  of  his  reign  to  have  in- 
dulged the  expectation  that  a  surrender  of  the  individuals  obnoxious 
to  each  other  might  be  negotiated.  He  therefore  paid  court  to 
that  monarch,  with  whom  he  entered  into  a  close  alliance,  and  to 
whom  he  dispatched  ten  of  his  galleys  to  serve  in  the  war  against 
Aragon.  Having  declared  the  fugitive  nobles,  who  were  three  in 
number,  Pedro  Coelho,  Alvaro  Gonsalves,  and  Diego  Lopes 
Pacheco,  traitors  to  their  country,  and  confiscated  all  their  posses- 
sionSj  he  proposed  for  the  arrest  of  their  personal  enemies.  On  a 
given  day  the  obnoxious  Castilians  were  arrested  in  Portugal,  the 
Portuguese  in  Castile,  and  were  surrendered  to  their  respective 
executioners.  Of  the  three  Portuguese,  however,  Pacheco  escaped. 
The  escape  of  even  one  victim  was  gall  to  the  Portuguese  king; 
but  he  resolved  to  satiate  his  rage  on  the  two  who  were  placed  in 
his  reach.  Both  were  thrown  into  a  dungeon  in  the  city  of  San- 
tarem,  where  the  tyrant  was  then  abiding,  and  were  speedily  put 
to  the  torture,  with  the  view  of  eliciting  whether  others  were  impli- 
cated in  the  same  crime,  and  whetlicr  certain  secrets  had  been  com- 
municated to  them  by  the  late  king.     They  withstood  the  acute 


290  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1360-1367 

torments  they  were  made  to  endure  with  a  firmness  truly  admirable ; 
— a  circumstance  that  increased  the  rage  of  Pedro,  who  was  present 
at  the  hellish  scene.  The  latter  foamed  at  the  mouth,  and  ordered 
his  victims  to  be  transferred  from  the  dungeon  to  a  scaffold  erected 
in  front  of  his  palace.  There  he  appeared  at  the  window,  express- 
ing a  savage  delight  at  the  new  torments  they  sustained.  At  length 
the  living  hearts  of  both  were  plucked  from  their  bodies ;  hearts  and 
bodies  were  next  consigned  to  the  flames ;  and  when  consumed,  the 
ashes  were  scattered  by  the  winds. 

The  next  proceeding  of  Pedro  was  to  honor  alike  the  remains 
and  memory  of  the  unfortunate  liies.  He  convoked  the  states  of 
his  kingdom  at  Castanedo,  and,  in  their  presence,  made  oath  on  the 
holy  gospels  that,  in  the  year  1354,  he  had  married  that  lady.  The 
witnesses  of  the  fact,  the  bishop  of  Guarda  and  his  own  chamberlain 
were  likewise  publicly  sworn,  and  the  bull  of  dispensation  produced 
which  Pope  John  XXII.  had  granted  for  the  celebration  of  the 
ceremony.  That  the  legitimacy  of  her  offspring  might  never  be 
disputed,  copies  of  the  papal  dispensation  and  of  the  oaths  taken 
on  this  occasion  were  multiplied  and  dispersed  throughout  the  king- 
dom. The  validity  of  the  marriage  being  thus  established,  Pedro 
now  proceeded  to  show  due  honor  to  her  remains.  He  ordered  two 
magnificent  tombs,  both  of  white  marble,  to  be  constructed,  one  for 
himself,  the  other  for  that  lady,  and  placed  them  in  the  monastery 
of  Alcobaga.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  church  of  St.  Clair  at 
Coimbra,  caused  her  corpse  to  be  brought  from  the  sepulcher,  to 
be  arrayed  in  royal  ornaments,  to  be  placed  on  a  throne  with  a 
crown  on  the  head  and  scepter  in  the  hand,  and  there  to  receive 
the  homage  of  his  assembled  courtiers.  From  the  church  it  was 
conveyed  on  a  magnificent  car,  accompanied  by  nobles  and  high- 
born dames,  all  clad  in  mourning,  to  the  monastery  of  Alcobaca. 
Pedro  himself  died  in  1367,  and  was  buried  beside  Ines  de  Castro. 

Ferdinand  I.,  son  of  Pedro  and  the  Princess  Constanza,  was  ill- 
fitted  to  succeed  monarchs  so  vigorous  as  his  immediate  predeces- 
sors. Fickle,  irresolute,  inconstant,  without  discernment,  directed 
by  no  rule  of  conduct,  obedient  only  to  momentary  impulse,  ad- 
dicted to  idleness,  or  to  recreations  still  more  censurable,  the  very 
benevolence  of  his  nature  was  a  calamity,  since  it  exposed  him 
to  tlie  designs  of  men  whose  uniform  aim  was  solely  their  own 
advantage. 

After  the  death  of  the  Castilian  Pedro,  Ferdinand,  considering 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  291 

1367-1372 

himself  the  true  heir  to  the  crown,  assumed  the  regal  title  and  arms 
of  Castile.  His  ambition  was  lamentably  inadequate  to  an  enter- 
prise so  important  as  that  of  encountering  and  attempting  to  de- 
throne the  bastard  usurper  Enrique.  After  his  inglorious  flight 
from  Galicia,  he  seldom  took  a  personal  share  in  the  contest;  and, 
from  the  recesses  of  his  palace,  he  appeared  to  witness  the  invasion 
of  his  kingdom  and  the  defeat  of  his  armies  with  indifference. 
When,  in  1373,  Lisbon  itself  was  invested  by  the  Castilian  king,  the 
defense  of  the  place  was  abandoned  to  the  valor  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  to  their  deep-rooted  hatred  of  the  Spanish  sway.  The  same 
year,  indeed,  peace  was  made  through  the  mediation  of  the  pope; 
but  it  was  often  broken  by  Ferdinand  during  the  reign  both  of 
Enrique  and  Juan  I.,  the  son  and  successor  of  that  prince.  The 
marriage  of  Beatrix,  daughter  of  Ferdinand,  with  Juan,  in  1362, 
and  the  treaty  for  uniting  the  two  crowns,  have  been  related  in  the 
history  of  Castile. 

During  these  transactions  proposals  were  frequently  made  for 
restoring  permanent  harmony  by  matrimonial  alliances.  At  first 
Ferdinand  cast  his  eyes  on  the  infanta  Leonora  of  Aragon,  whom  he 
engaged  to  marry;  but,  with  his  usual  fickleness,  he  escaped  from 
the  obligation.  As  the  condition  of  one  of  his  frequent  acts  of 
pacification  with  Castile,  he  next  promised  to  raise  a  daughter  of 
Enrique,  also  named  Leonora,  to  the  Portuguese  throne.  When  the 
time  approached  for  the  celebration  of  this  marriage,  Ferdinand  fell 
passionately  in  love  with  one  of  his  own  subjects — a  Leonora  like 
the  rest.  He  first  saw  this  lady,  on  a  visit  to  her  sister  Doha  Maria, 
who  was  one  of  the  attendants  on  his  own  sister,  the  infanta  Beatrix. 
To  beauty  of  the  first  order  Leonora  added  a  sprightliness  which 
charmed  and  a  wit  which  captivated  him ;  but  these  were  far  in- 
ferior to  her  ambition,  and  were  unsupported  by  one  single  principle 
of  honor  or  virtue.  The  king  first  mentioned  his  passion  to  Doha 
Maria,  whose  good  offices  he  solicited.  She  reminded  him  that  her 
sister  was  already  the  wife  of  Dom  Joam  Lourenzo  da  Cunha,  lord 
of  Pombeiro.  "  Of  that  we  are  well  aware,"  replied  Ferdinand ; 
"  but  they  are  related  by  blood,  and  they  married  witiiout  a  dis- 
pensation:  the  engagement  may  easily  be  annulled."  The  proposal 
was  made  to  Leonora,  who  readily  accepted  it ;  proceedings  for  the 
cassation  of  the  marriage  were  instituted  in  the  ecclesiastical  courts; 
and  as  the  husband  oft'ered  no  opposition  to  them, — doubtless  be- 
cause he  had  no  wish  to  contend  with  a  plaintiff  whose  cause  was 


292  SPAIN     AND     TORTUGAL 

1372-1373 

backed  by  legions  of  soldiers, — it  was  declared  null.  Not  con- 
sidering- himself  safe  in  Portugal,  Dom  Lourenzo  fled  into  Castile, 
evidently  little  afflicted  at  the  loss  of  an  unprincipled  woman. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  was  Ferdinand's  original  intention 
to  make  her  his  mistress ;  but  she  had  too  much  policy  to  become  the 
tool  of  one  whom  she  had  resolved  to  rule;  and  she  assumed  the 
appearance  of  so  much  modesty  that  to  gain  his  object  he  was 
forced  to  marry  her.  But  this  marriage  was  strictly  private;  a 
precaution  adopted  as  well  to  stifle  the  murmurs  of  his  subjects,  as 
to  prevent  the  indignant  remonstrances  of  Enrique.  It  was,  how- 
ever, suspected,  and  the  very  suspicion  produced  great  dissatisfac- 
tion throughout  the  kingdom — nowhere  so  great  as  in  the  capital. 
A  mob,  formidable  from  its  numbers,  assembled  in  the  streets,  and 
declaimed  against  the  insult  offered  to  both  throne  and  people  by 
the  preference  of  a  humble  Portuguese  lady  to  the  infantas  of  Ara- 
gon  and  Castile.  Ferdinand  listened  with  forced  tranquillity  to  the 
rude  discourse;  and,  fearful  that  the  3,000  mechanics  and  artisans 
before  him  might  proceed  to  some  greater  outrage,  he  had  the 
meanness  to  add  a  deliberate  lie  to  his  glaring  imprudence.  He  said 
that  he  had  neither  married  nor  intended  to  marry  Leonora.  This 
declaration  satisfied  the  mob,  who,  however,  insisted  that  he  should 
take  an  oath  the  following  day  to  the  same  effect  in  the  church  of 
San  Domingo,  a  promise  which  he  readily  made.  At  the  time 
appointed,  they  proceeded  to  the  church,  but  found  to  their  morti- 
fication that,  during  the  night,  the  king  and  Leonora  had  fled  to 
Santarem.  In  the  height  of  their  fury  they  apostrophized  both  in 
no  measured  terms.  The  nobles  and  prelates  now  hastened  to 
court,  to  recognize  their  new  queen.  All  readily  kissed  her  hand, 
with  the  exception  of  Dom  Dinis,  son  of  Pedro  and  Ines  de  Castro, 
who  accompanied  his  refusal  in  open  court  with  expressions  of  con- 
tempt. Ferdinand  drew  his  poniard  and  would  doubtless  have 
laid  his  obnoxious  brother  at  his  feet,  but  for  the  interference  of 
two  nobles  who  arrested  his  arm.  Even  Joam,  the  grand  master 
of  Avis,  a  natural  son  of  the  late  king,  who  is  about  to  perform  so 
memorable  a  part  in  the  national  history,  bowed  before  the  tri- 
umphant Leonora.  To  render  her  power  more  secure,  she  began 
to  act  with  great  policy.  By  such  measures  she  certainly  disarmed 
hostility,  and  secured  to  herself  an  undisturbed  possession  of  her 
new  dignity. 

The   insult   to   the   royal    family   of   Castile    involved    in   this 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  293 

1373-1382 

imprudent  marriage  was  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  hostiH- 
ties  that  followed — hostilities  in  which  the  country  was  laid  waste, 
from  Badajoz  to  Lisbon,  and  that  capital  invested.  On  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  in  1373,  which  was  cemented  by  the  marriage  of 
a  natural  daughter  of  Ferdinand  with  a  natural  son  of  Enrique, 
tranquillity  visited  the  kingdom  for  some  years ;  but  the  Portuguese 
court,  through  the  ambition  and  wickedness  of  the  queen,  was  often 
distracted  and  disgraced. 

Though  on  the  accession  of  Juan  I.  of  Castile  Ferdinand 
readily  renewed  the  peace  between  the  two  crowns,  and  consented 
to  marry  his  daughter  Beatrix  to  the  heir  of  the  Castilian,  his  char- 
acteristic fickleness  was  such  that  he  soon  resolved  to  resume  hostili- 
ties. To  engage  the  Duke  of  Lancaster  in  his  cause,  he  sent  a 
trusty  messenger  to  England,  Dom  Joam  Fernando  Andeiro,  who 
concluded  a  league  with  the  Plantagenet.  To  conceal  this  negotia- 
tion from  the  world,  especially  from  the  Castilian,  he  pretended 
great  anger  with  Andeiro,  whom  he  arrested  and  confined  to  the 
fortress  of  Estremos.  During  his  agreeable  captivity  in  this  place, 
he  was  frequently  visited  by  the  disguised  king,  who  was  sometimes 
accompained  by  the  queen,  and  was  made  to  unfold  the  conditions 
he  had  contracted,  and  solicited  for  his  advice.  Sometimes,  too, 
the  queen,  at  her  husband's  command,  or  her  own  suggestion,  re- 
paired alone  to  the  fortress  for  the  same  purpose.  Perceiving  her 
vanity,  as  well  of  her  person  as  of  her  talents,  and  how  gratified  she 
was  by  adulation,  Andeiro  offered  her  the  accustomed  incense.  As 
his  person  was  unexceptionable,  his  address  elegant,  and  his  manners 
prepossessing,  he  soon  won  so  far  on  the  credulous  Leonora,  that 
she  became  the  willing  partner  of  his  lust,  and  still  more  of  his 
ambition.  In  the  hostilities  which  followed  the  arrival  of  the  Earl 
of  Cambridge,  he  was  released,  and,  by  her  influence,  was  invested 
with  the  lordship  of  Ourem.  His  wife  and  children  were  brought 
to  court;  but  his  intimacy  with  Leonora  so  incensed  the  countess 
that,  though  she  did  not  reveal — perhaps  because  she  had  not  wit- 
nessed— the  actual  guilt  of  the  parties,  she  did  not  scruple  to  assert 
that  there  was  more  than  ordinary  attachment  l^etween  them. 
Whether  these  reports  reached  the  ears  of  Ferdinand,  or,  if  they  did, 
whether  he  believed  them,  is  unknown ;  but  so  complete  was  the 
ascendancy  of  Leonora  over  his  feeble  mind  that,  had  he  been 
acciuainted  with  the  whole  extent  of  her  amour,  he  would  probably 
have  trembled  to  punish  her.      Her  own  imprudence  soon  now  in- 


294  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1382 

creased  the  danger  of  her  situation.  One  day,  when  Andeiro  and 
another  noble  entered  her  apartments,  both,  through  the  heat  of  the 
weather,  covered  with  dust  and  perspiration,  she  asked  them  if  they 
had  no  handkerchief.  As  this  was  a  luxury  in  that  age  possessed 
by  few,  both  repHed  in  the  negative.  She  divided  a  veil  into 
halves,  one  of  which  she  gave  to  each.  The  Conde  Gonsales  received 
iiis  part  with  respect,  and  retired  to  a  corner  of  the  apartment.  But 
Andeiro  approached  the  queen,  and  addressed  to  her  some  compli- 
ment of  gallantry  in  phrases  familiar  enough  to  show  the  terms 
on  which  they  lived  with  each  other.  Neither  the  words,  nor 
the  smile  which  rewarded  them,  escaped  the  ears  of  a  lady  of 
honor,  the  wife  of  the  Baron  de  Azevedo.  This  lady  was  thought- 
less enough  to  disclose  the  circumstance  to  her  husband,  who,  with 
still  greater  imprudence,  one  day  hinted  to  the  queen  his  knowledge 
of  her  connection  with  Andeiro.  Leonora  now  trembled  for  her 
safety,  especially  as  Azevedo  was  the  friend  of  Dom  Joam,  grand 
master  of  Avis,  who  had  lately  declared  himself  her  enemy,  and 
they  might  at  any  time  reveal  the  amour  to  the  king.  She  vowed  the 
ruin  of  both.  Having  forged  some  letters,  which  compromised  the 
loyalty  of  both, — which  made  both  the  secret  agents  of  the  Castilian 
king, — she  went  to  Ferdinand,  laid  them  before  him,  procured  an 
order  for  their  arrest,  and  saw  them  securely  confined.  This  was 
not  enough.  Grown  desperate  by  her  sense  of  danger,  she  fabricated 
a  royal  order  for  the  immediate  execution  of  the  two  prisoners,  ad- 
dressed to  the  governor  of  the  fortress.  But  the  governor  knew  her 
character,  suspected  her  purpose,  and  replied  that  he  could  not  obey 
it  until  the  following  morning.  A  second  mandate  was  sent,  in 
terms  much  more  peremptory;  but  instead  of  complying,  the  gov- 
ernor took  both  orders  to  the  king.  Nothing  can  so  clearly  show  the 
wretched  dependence  of  Ferdinand  on  his  queen  than  the  fact  that, 
though  these  audacious  instruments  completely  opened  his  eyes  as 
to  her  real  character,  he  dared  not  attempt  to  punish  her.  He 
merely  enjoined  the  officer  to  preserve  a  deep  silence  on  this  extraor- 
dinary transaction,  and  to  respect  the  lives  of  the  two  prisoners. 

Any  other  than  Leonora  would  have  been  utterly  confounded 
at  this  signal  exposure,  of  her  deeds ;  but  her  wickedness  was  dis- 
tinguished by  a  boldness  which  would  have  done  honor  to  the  most 
celebrated  female  adventurer  of  an  Italian  court.  That  she  had 
resolved  to  poison  both  in  an  entertainment  given  on  the  occasion, 
is  the  opinion  of  all  the  national  historians ;  but  the  destined  victims 


PORTUGUESE     KINGD-OM  295 

1383 

were  on  their  guard,  and  escaped.  Though  the  grand  master  com- 
plained of  his  arrest  to  Ferdinand  himself,  he  could  obtain  no  clue 
to  the  cause.  But  the  latter  was  now  evidently  unhappy;  he  saw 
that  the  affections  of  his  queen  were  estranged  from  him  and  trans- 
ferred to  Andeiro.  Yet — such  was  his  deplorable  weakness! — he 
met  both  with  constrained  smiles,  and  deputed  both  to  be  present 
at  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Beatrix  with  Juan  of  Castile.  On 
this  occasion  the  favorite  appeared  with  a  splendor  which  might 
have  become  a  sovereign  prince,  but  which  filled  the  beholders  with 
indignation  or  envy.  The  perpetual  sight  of  a  faithless  wife  and 
her  insolent  paramour  was  at  length  too  much  even  for  the  feeble 
Ferdinand.  In  the  agony  of  his  feelings  he  one  day  opened  his 
heart  to  the  grand  master,  who  he  knew  hated  Andeiro,  and  with 
whom  he  planned  that  minion's  assassination.  But  his  own 
death,  the  result  alike  of  constitutional  weakness  of  frame  and  men- 
tal suffering,  saved  him  from  the  guilt  of  murder. 

The  reign  of  this  sovereign  was  one  of  the  most  deplorable  that 
ever  afflicted  Portugal.  The"  wars  with  Castile, — wars  lightly 
undertaken  and  ingloriously  conducted — and  the  consequent  in- 
vasions of  his  territory  by  his  more  powerful  neighbors,  impover- 
ished his  people.  Yet  there  were  moments  when  he  was  not  in- 
attentive to  the  duties  of  his  station.  But  these  were  but  the  impulse 
of  the  moment,  and  were  succeeded  by  some  mischievous  freak. 
Among  these  was  the  fatal  one  of  raising  by  an  arbitrary  enactment 
the  value  of  the  current  coin  far  beyond  its  intrinsic  worth. 

By  the  death  of  King  Ferdinand,  in  1383,  his  daughter  Bea- 
trix, queen  of  Castile,  was  the  true  heir  to  the  throne  of  Portugal. 
But  the  kingdom,  far  from  expecting  a  foreign  yoke,  had,  on  the 
marriage  of  the  infanta,  expressly  stipulated  that,  in  case  of  Ferdi- 
nand's death,  the  government  should  be  vested  in  a  regent  until 
she  had  a  son  capable  of  assuming  the  sovereignty;  that  son,  too, 
to  be  educated  not  in  Castile  but  in  Portugal.  When  that  event 
happened  she  had  no  child, — a  circumstance  that  induced  her  hus- 
band to  claim  the  crown  in  her  right,  and  filled  the  Portuguese  with 
vexation.  They  were  satisfied  neither  witli  their  intended  sov- 
ereign, Juan,  nor  with  the  regent  Leonora,  the  queen-mother,  whom 
the  will  of  the  late  king  appointed  to  that  dignity.  And  when,  in 
conformity  with  the  demands  of  the  Castilian,  Beatrix  was  pro- 
claimed in  Lisbon,  the  people  either  exhibited  a  mournful  silence, 
or  cried  out  that  they  woukl  have  no  other  king  than  their  infante 


296  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1383 

Joam,  son  of  Pedro  and  Ines  de  Castro,  and  the  unfortunate  hus- 
band of  Maria,  sister  of  Leonora,  whose  tragical  fate  has  been 
recorded.  But  Joam  and  his  brother  Dinis  now  languished  in  the 
dungeons  of  Castile,  whither  they  had  been  consigned  by  the  king, 
who  knew  that,  if  suffered  to  enter  Portugal,  they  would  speedily 
thwart  his  views  of  dominion.  Until  these  princes  could  be  re- 
stored to  their  country,  and  until  Beatrix  should  have  an  heir,  the 
Portuguese  resolved  to  deprive  the  queen-mother  of  the  regency  in 
favor  of  the  grand  master  of  Avis,  who  alone  seemed  able  to  de- 
fend their  national  independence. 

Don  Joam,  as  before  observed,  was  an  illegitimate  son  of  King 
Pedro,  by  a  lady  of  Galicia,  and  born  in  1357.  No  man  could  be 
better  adapted  for  the  conjuncture  in  which  circumstances  placed 
him.  Cool,  yet  prompt;  prudent,  yet  in  the  highest  degree  coura- 
geous; unrestrained  by  conscience,  and  ready  to  act  either  with 
cunning  or  violence,  according  as  either  appeared  necessary  to  his 
purpose,  he  would  indeed  have  been  a  formidable  opponent  to  any 
sovereign,  much  more  to  one  so  weak  as  the  Castilian,  Seeing  the 
favorable  disposition  of  the  people  and  confiding  in  his  own  mental 
resources,  he  commenced  a  policy  which,  if  at  first  cautious,  was  sure 
to  prove  efficacious.  To  have  a  pretext  for  the  design  he  meditated, 
he  first  solicited  the  regency  from  Juan ;  and  having  sustained  a  re- 
fusal, he  employed  his  creatures,  and  all  whom  hatred  to  the  Cas- 
tilian yoke  rallied  round  him,  to  secure  its  execution.  Though 
Leonora  pretended  great  sorrow  for  her  husband's  death,  and  en- 
deavored, by  affected  mildness,  as  well  as  by  an  administration  truly 
liberal,  to  win  the  popular  favor,  her  object  was  penetrated  and 
despised.  But  a  stronger  sentiment  was  felt  for  Andeiro,  who 
directed  her  at  his  pleasure,  and  whose  death  was  now  decreed  by 
the  grand  master.  To  remove  the  latter  under  some  honorable 
pretext  from  the  court,  he  was  charged  by  Leonora  with  the  govern- 
ment of  Alemtejo:  a  province  that,  in  the  war  inevitably  impending 
with  the  Castilians,  would  be  most  exposed  to  their  fury.  He 
accepted  the  trust  with  apparent  satisfaction;  but  scarcely  had  he 
traveled  two  leagues  on  his  journey,  wiien,  accompanied  by  twenty- 
five  resolute  followers,  he  returned  to  Lisbon  and  hastened  to  the 
royal  apartments,  where  he  knew  he  should  find  Andeiro.  The 
guilty  pair  were  as  usual  together.  To  the  demand  of  the  queen  as 
to  the  motive  of  his  unexpected  return,  he  replied  that,  having  re- 
ceived certain  information  of  the  formidable  armament  preparing 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  297 

1383 

by  Juan  of  Castile,  he  came  to  request  the  permission  for  raising  a 
larger  force.  This  reply  appeared  to  satisfy  her,  and  all  animosity 
seemed  so  far  banished  that  the  favorite  invited  the  grand  master 
to  dinner.  The  latter,  who  offered  some  excuse,  solicited  a  few 
moments'  private  conversation  with  the  count,  and  both  passed 
into  another  apartment.  While  engaged  in  this  way,  Joam  struck 
the  count  with  a  dagger,  at  the  same  time  a  knight  of  his  suite 
advanced  and  by  a  second  blow  deprived  the  victim  of  life.  The 
noise  alarmed  his  domestics,  who,  instead  of  avenging  his  death, 
escaped  along  the  roof  of  the  palace :  it  more  sensibly  affected  the 
queen,  who  was  not  only  inconsolable  for  his  loss,  but  apprehensive 
that  the  same  fate  was  designed  for  herself.  The  tragical  deed  was 
hailed  with  characteristic  acclamations  by  the  populace,  who,  profit- 
ing by  the  example,  massacred  everyone  suspected  to  be  hostile  to 
the  pretensions  of  their  new  idol,  and  plundered  on  every  side. 
Leonora  now  fled  from  the  city  to  Alenquer.  On  the  way  she 
turned  her  eyes  for  a  moment  back  on  the  towers  of  that  capital, 
and,  in  the  bitterness  of  her  heart,  prayed  that  she  might  live  to  see 
it  wrapped  in  flames.  After  her  departure  the  grand  master  seemed 
pensive  and  melancholy;  deplored  the  calamities  of  his  country; 
complained  that  he  was  unequal  to  oppose  his  powerful  enemies; 
and  pretended  that  he  would  retire  into  England  to  pass  his  re- 
maining days  in  tranquillity.  This  liypocritical  policy  had  its  effect : 
it  alarmed  the  mob,  who  dreaded  being  abandoned  to  the  justice 
their  recent  crimes  so  well  merited,  and  who  tumultuously  flocked 
around  him,  insisting  that  he  should  assume  the  regency  until  Bea- 
trix should  become  the  motlier  of  a  son  destined  to  rule  over  them. 
With  much  apparent  reluctance  he  accepted  the  proffered  dignity, 
in  the  resolution  of  securing  one  much  higher. 

The  first  measures  of  the  new  regent  were  characteristic  of  the 
man.  Having  selected  as  the  members  of  his  council  men  as  dis- 
tinguished for  knowledge  as  they  were  for  a  courage  tempered  by 
prudence,  he  published  an  edict  in  which  entire  pardon  was  prom- 
ised to  all  criminals,  whatever  their  offenses,  who  within  a  short 
period  should  rally  round  his  standard,  and  assist  him  in  opposing 
the  queen  and  the  Spaniards.  At  this  unexpected  call,  great  num- 
bers— amounting,  we  are  told,  to  thousands — hastened  from  their 
prisons  or  their  haunts  to  swell  his  army.  At  first  the  nobles  and 
prelates,  suspicious  of  his  character,  and  disgusted  with  his  crimes, 
stood  aloof;  but,  by  bribes,  by  honors,  and  by  the  magnitude  of  his 


298  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1384 

promises,  he  weaned  many  of  them,  gradually  yet  surely,  from  the 
cause  of  Leonora.  Through  the  active  exertions  of  his  emissaries, 
many  of  the  great  towns  were  persuaded  to  follow  the  example  of 
Lisbon.  Amidst  these  scenes  a  hermit,  who  had  passed  many 
years  of  his  life  on  a  neighboring  mountain  and  who  had  been 
gained  by  Joam,  appeared  in  Lisbon.  His  studied  simplicity  of 
manner,  his  sonorous  declamation,  his  apparent  zeal,  and  still  more 
the  nature  of  his  subject — obedience  to  "  the  powers  that  be  " — 
procured  him  a  willing  audience.  He  was  soon  regarded  as  a 
prophet,  and  was  persuaded  to  exercise  his  imaginary  vocation  in 
favor  of  the  regent,  to  whom  he  accordingly  predicted  every  success 
with  which  heaven  could  reward  its  favorites.  Undaunted  by  these 
predictions,  the  king  of  Castile  invaded  the  kingdom,  received  the 
submission  of  several  places,  and  penetrated  to  Santarem,  to  concert 
with  his  mother-in-law,  Leonora,  the  means  of  annihilating  the  re- 
sources of  Joam.  But  that  ambitious  woman,  who  perceived  that 
with  the  arrival  of  the  king  her  authority  had  ceased,  soon  regarded 
his  cause  with  indifference,  ultimately  with  dislike.  Her  intrigues 
were  planned  more  frequently  to  thwart  than  to  aid  his  measures ; 
so  that,  aware  of  her  faithless  character,  he  at  length  surrounded 
her  with  spies  and  reduced  her  nearly  to  the  condition  of  a  prisoner 
in  her  own  palace.  This  was  not  the  way  to  remove  her  growing 
disinclination  to  his  cause;  nor  was  it  long  before  she  openly  ex- 
pressed her  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  grand  master.  To  show 
her  that  she  was  in  his  power,  to  prevent  her  meditated  flight  and 
probable  junction  with  Joam,  and  to  be  thenceforth  free  from  her 
restless  intrigues,  he  caused  her  to  be  arrested,  to  be  conducted  into 
Spain,  and  to  be  confined  in  the  convent  of  Tordesillas,  near  Valla- 
dolid. 

As  allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  chief  events  of  the 
present  war,  and  as  those  events  are  not  in  themselves  of  much  in- 
terest, little  more  remains  to  be  said  of  them.  Though  Lisbon  was 
invested  both  by  sea  and  land,  and  in  a  few  months  reduced  to  the 
greatest  distress,  it  was  defended  with  equal  ability  and  valor  by 
the  grand  master  and  his  captains,  still  more  by  the  unconquerable 
spirit  of  the  inhabitants.  In  the  end,  however,  the  king,  whose 
loss  had  been  severe  and  who  had  now  to  encounter  pestilence  no 
less  than  the  armed  enemy,  precipitately  raised  the  siege.  He  at 
fn-st  retired  to  Torres  Yedras,  where,  having  issued  directions  for 
the  preservation  of  the  fortified  places  which  still  acknowledged 


^^  "^  .:h. 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  299 

1385 

him,  he  returned  into  Castile.  His  absence  was  well  improved  by 
the  grand  master,  who,  with  great  celerity,  obtained  possession  of 
several  important  towns — some  by  assault,  but  more  through  vol- 
untary submission.  To  end  the  distractions  of  the  country,  the 
states,  early  in  1385,  were  convoked  at  Coimbra.  There  the  crea- 
tures of  the  regent  proposed  his  proclamation  as  king  as  the  only 
measure  capable  of  restoring  internal  tranquillity  and  of  en- 
abling the  nation  to  withstand  the  arms  of  Castile.  They  even 
endeavored  to  show  that  he  was  the  nearest  heir  to  the  crown.  The 
issue  of  liies  de  Castro  they  set  aside  as  sprtmg  from  an  adulterous 
connection,  and  the  same  objection  they  urged  against  Beatrix, 
whose  mother  they  considered  as  the  lawful  wife,  not  of  the  late 
king,  but  of  the  Lord  de  Pombeiro.  In  extolling  the  personal 
qualities  of  the  regent, — his  military  capacity,  his  talents  for  ad- 
ministration, his  diligence,  prudence,  and  firmness, — they  were 
more  successful.  Had  Joam,  the  eldest  son  of  Ifies,  or  even  his 
brother  Dinis,  who  were  prisoners  in  Castile,  been  present,  there 
would  have  been  little  need  of  such  a  display;  but  the  possibility 
of  their  return  seemed  so  remote,  and  the  present  danger  so  press- 
ing, that,  in  the  end,  those  who  had  most  loudly  advocated  their 
rights,  joined  the  party  of  the  regent ;  and,  on  the  6th  day  of  x\pril, 
1385,  he  was  unanimously  proclaimed  king. 

Joam  I.  (John,  "the  Great")  having,  through  the  eloquence 
of  his  advocates  and  the  no  less  effectual  martial  attitude  of  his 
friends,  attained  the  great  object  of  his  ambition,  vigorously  pre- 
pared for  the  war  with  his  rival  of  Castile.  Through  the  promises 
as  well  as  the  menaces  of  his  barons  many  of  the  most  considerable 
fortified  places  in  the  interest  of  the  Castilian  king  were  recovered. 
The  events  which  followed ;  the  decisive  victory  gained  by  Joam  at 
Aljubarota;  the  alternations  of  success  and  failure  that  succeeded; 
the  arrival  of  the  duke  of  Lancaster  to  obtain  the  Castilian  crown 
in  right  of  his  wife  Constanza,  daughter  of  Pedro  the  Cruel;  the 
alliance  between  the  two  princes,  Joam  marrying  Philippa,  a 
daughter  of  the  duke;  the  subseciuent  reconciliation  between  the 
latter  and  the  king  of  Castile,  cemented  by  the  marriage  of  the 
Princess  Catherine,  daugliter  of  the  Plantagenet,  with  Enrique, 
son  of  Juan,  and  other  transactions  of  these  troubled  times,  have 
already  been  noticed  so  far  as  the  limits  of  this  compendium  can 
allow.  Nor,  though  long  after  tliis  reconciliation  of  the  duke  and 
the  Castilian  king    a   desultory  warfare   raged   between   Portugal 


300  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1384-1403 

and  that  power,  are  tlie  details  sufficiently  interesting  to  be  laid 
before  tiie  reader.  It  must  be  sufficient  to  observe  that  peace  was 
made  and  broken  more  than  once;  that  the  success  lay  with  the 
Lusitanian  king, — a  success,  however,  attributable  as  much  to  the  in- 
ternal troubles  of  Castile  after  the  death  of  Juan  I.  as  to  the  valor 
of  Joam :  and  that,  when  a  more  durable  peace  was  concluded 
in  1403,  the  Portuguese  had  recovered  their  fortresses,  and  were 
in  possession  of  Badajoz. 

P)y  his  queen,  Philippa,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster, 
Joam  had  several  children,  of  whom  five  were  sons.  As  these 
princes  grew  in  years  they  displayed  great  martial  ardor  and 
promised  to  become  the  buhvarks  of  the  country  and  throne.  He 
had  resolved  to  confer  on  them  the  honor  of  knighthood,  and  to 
celebrate  the  occasion  by  a  magnificent  tournament.  But  they  de- 
spised the  peaceful  lists,  and  besought  his  permission  to  \vin  their 
spurs  in  a  nobler  manner  by  an  expedition  against  the  Moors.  The 
fortress  of  Ceuta,  "*  on  the  African  side  of  the  straits  of  Gibraltar 
seemed  to  them  the  most  inviting  of  conquests ;  it  promised  also 
to  be  the  most  useful,  as  it  was  inhabited  by  pirates,  who  were 
daily  disturbing  the  commerce  of  the  kingdom,  and  who  had  ac- 
cumulated riches  sufficient  to  satisfy  even  avarice.  Though  eager 
to  gratify  a  propensity  which  he  loved,  the  king  was  at  first  startled 
by  the  magnitude  of  the  proposed  enterprise.  The  fortifications  of 
Ceuta  were  strong,  and  defended  by  the  bravest  portion  of  the 
Mohammedan  population :  to  reduce  them  a  considerable  arma- 
ment must  be  prepared,  and  at  an  expense  wdiich  he  was  loth  to 
incur.  In  the  end,  how'ever,  he  yielded  to  their  urgent  entreaties ; 
the  expedition  was  resolved,  tw^o  confidential  officers  w^ere  sent  to 
rcconnoiter  the  place,  and  the  royal  council  gave  a  reluctant  consent 
to  the  project.  But  as  secrecy  alone  could  insure  its  success,  as  a 
premature  disclosure  of  the  design  would  have  enabled  the  pirates 
to  increase  the  number  of  their  defenders  and  the  strength  of  their 
works,  the  whole  peninsula  was  in  suspense,  and  not  without  alarm 
at  the  preparations  of  the  king.  Having  tranquillized  the  Cas- 
tilians,  the  Aragonese,  and  the  Moors  of  Granada,  as  to  his  in- 
tentions, and  fearful  of  rousing  the  suspicions  of  the  Africans,  he 
intimated  tliat  his  armament  w'as  to  be  led  against  the  count  of 
Jiolland.     Xot  even  the  death  of  liis  queen,  who  was  carried  off 

4  Is  llii-  a  rorrniUion  nf  Crritas,  or  of  Septan,  the  number  of  hills  on  which 
the  town  ;i;ul  fortress  arc  built? 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  301 

1415-1417 

by  the  plague,^  nor  his  advanced  years,  could  suspend  his  prepara- 
tions. At  length,  having  collected  a  considerable  number  of  vessels 
from  most  parts,  and  been  joined  by  adventurers  from  most  na- 
tions of  Europe,  accompanied  by  his  sons  and  his  chief  nobles, 
Joam  embarked,  proceeded  towards  the  straits,  and,  the  middle  of 
August,  141 5,  arrived  before  Ceuta.  The  Moorish  governor, 
Sala  ben  Sala,  a  man  advanced  in  years,  but  of  undaunted  courage, 
prepared  for  a  vigorous  defense.  In  spite,  however,  of  his  opposi- 
tion, the  disembarkation  was  effected  without  loss;  the  Moors  who 
lined  the  coast  were  dispersed  and  forced  to  seek  shelter  in  the 
fortress.  The  ardor  of  the  two  infantes  caused  them  to  pursue 
the  fugitives  so  closely  that  both  entered  into  the  place  at  the 
same  moment.  Perceiving  that  they  were  accompanied  by  no  more 
than  500  Christians,  the  former  sent  messengers  for  assistance, 
and  were  soon  joined  by  a  few  hundred  more.  By  this  time  an- 
other of  the  princes,  Pedro,  had  disembarked,  and  hastened  to 
rejoin  his  elder  brothers,  Duarte  and  Henrique.  Before  reaching 
them,  however,  he  found  that  the  Moors  had  rallied  and  were 
fiercely  contending  in  various  parts  of  the  city  for  their  domestic 
hearths.  At  length  the  place  fell.  On  the  towers  of  that  fortress 
the  royal  standard  of  Portugal  was  soon  hoisted ;  resistance  was 
everywhere  quelled,  and  immense  spoils  rewarded  the  victors.  The 
grand  mosque  was  immediately  purified,  Te  Deum  sung,  and  mass 
pontifically  performed  in  it.  At  the  same  time  the  infantes,  who 
had  nobly  won  their  spurs,  were  solemnly  knighted.  Having  left 
a  small  but  select  garrison  in  Ceuta,  and  provided  for  the  defense 
of  the  place  against  the  inevitable  assaults  of  the  ]\Ioors.  Joam 
leimbarked,  and  with  the  remainder  of  the  armament  returned  to 
Lisbon. 

The  heroism  of  the  governor  Dom  Pedro  and  of  the  horse- 
men he  commanded  is  the  constant  and  enthusiastic  theme  of 
praise  by  the  national  writers.  The  number  of  skirmishes  which 
he  was  compelled  to  sustain  during  the  three  years  immediately 
following  the  reduction  of  Ceuta  is  said,  no  doul)t  hyperbolically, 
to  have  exceeded  the  number  of  days.  It  is  certain  that  during 
his  government  the  place  was  frequently  assailed  by  the  whole 
power  of  the  African  Moors,  aided  by  the  fleet  of  their  brethren 
of  Granada,  and  that  he  triumphed  over  them  all.  Tliat  the  Moors 
should  lament  the  loss  of  so  fair  a  city, — a  loss  for  which,  consid- 
5  The  memory  of  this  English  princess  is  held  in  higli  respect  in  Portugal. 


302  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1417-1419 

ering  the  strength  of  the  fortifications,  they  were  unable  to  ac- 
count on  natural  grounds — and  that  they  should  burn  with  the  de- 
sire of  recovering  it,  was  to  be  expected.  No  sooner  did  they  see 
the  fleet  of  Joam  depart  than  hope  cheered  them.  They  resolved 
to  invest  the  place,  and  if  unable  to  reduce  it  by  open  force,  they 
were  sure  to  obtain  it  by  famine — unless,  as  some  of  the  more  su- 
perstitious or  more  timid  seemed  to  fear,  the  defenders  neither 
ate  nor  drank.  The  king  had  ordered  the  governor  not  to  leave 
the  walls,  but  to  be  ready  to  repel  assaults,  which  he  foresaw  would 
soon  be  made ;  and  this  inactivity  aided  their  rising  courage.  They 
advanced  to  the  fortifications,  and  burned  a  few  vessels  which  still 
lay  in  the  harbor.  For  some  days  this  was  borne,  but  with  great 
indignation,  by  the  Christian  soldiers  and  hidalgos,  when  their 
murmurs  became  so  loud  that  Dom  Pedro  was  compelled  to  permit 
a  few  of  them  to  combat  with  the  enemy,  but  on  the  express  condi- 
tion that  they  would  not  remove  far  from  the  walls.  The  skir- 
mishes which  followed  this  concession  were  perpetual,  and  always 
honorable  to  the  Portuguese.  In  one  of  these  irruptions  they  cut 
down  the  trees  and  razed  the  walls  of  the  spacious  and  magnifi- 
cent gardens  in  the  vicinity, — a  measure,  perhaps,  rendered  neces- 
sary from  the  facility  with  which  the  Moors  intrenched  themselves ; 
but  the  havoc  so  incensed  the  latter  that  they  plucked  their  beards, 
and  swore  to  be  avenged  on  the  dogs  who  had  done  it.  To  omit  no 
opportunity  of  fulfilling  their  vow,  they  took  up  their  abode  in  the 
neighboring  hills ;  and,  for  fear  of  surprise,  fortified  their  position. 
To  dislodge  those  who  dwelt  in  the  valley  of  Larenjo,  the  governor 
one  night  dispatched  a  select  band,  which  made  great  carnage 
among  them. 

To  avenge  these  atrocities  the  Moors  now  gathered  in  for- 
midable numbers,  not  merely  from  the  neighborhood,  but  from 
wherever  the  fame  of  their  wrongs  had  penetrated ;  but  they  were 
always  repulsed  by  the  valiant  count,  whose  exploits  are  repre- 
sented as  not  much  inferior  to  those  of  the  cid,  Ruy  Dias,  in 
Valencia.  The  very  exaggeration,  however,  proves  that  Dom 
Pedro  was  the  most  valiant  king  of  a  valiant  nation.  In  one  of 
these  sorties  against  some  thousands  of  the  misbelievers  he  was 
wounded,  and  the  intelligence  brought  another  body  of  Moors  to 
the  city,  but  with  no  better  success ;  for  so  valiantly  were  they 
received  by  liis  captains,  that  they  were  glad  to  escape  with  their 
lives.     But  during  three  years  no  formal  siege  was  laid  to  the 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  803 

1419-1433 

place;  a  circumstance  sufficiently  explicable  by  the  perpetual  strug- 
gles for  empire  among  the  Mohammedan  princes  of  western 
Africa.  In  14 19  the  fortress  was  first  invested,  and  by  an  army 
formidable  enough  to  inspire  the  assailants  with  the  hope  of  suc- 
cess. In  the  combats  which  ensued,  the  Christians,  notwithstand- 
ing the  loss  of  some  brave  captains,  were,  as  usual,  victorious ;  and 
"  a  pleasant  thing  it  was,"  says  the  chronicler,  "  to  see  our  men, 
like  the  waters  which  flowed  on  the  beach,  sprinkled  with  infidel 
blood."  After  some  days  the  siege  was  raised,  with  the  loss  of 
some  thousands  on  the  part  of  the  Africans.  But  scarcely  had  the 
governor  time  to  congratulate  himself  on  this  event  before  he  re- 
ceived news  which  filled  him  with  apprehension — that  a  more 
formidable  army  and  a  fleet  from  Granada  were  preparing  to 
move  against  him.  He  lost  no  time  in  soliciting  succor  from  King 
Joam,  who  as  readily  granted  it.  Again  was  the  place  invested — 
this  time  by  sea  and  land ;  and,  as  before,  the  valor  of  the  besieged 
was  almost  superhuman.  Fearing,  however,  that  it  must  ulti- 
mately surrender,  if  not  more  effectually  succored,  the  king  ordered 
two  of  his  sons. — the  infantes  Henrique  and  Joam — to  sail  with  a 
considerable  armament.  As  they  approached  the  place  they  per- 
ceived that  the  Mohammedans  had  landed  and  furiously  assailed 
Dom  Pedro,  who,  with  his  handful  of  brave  companions,  was 
making  terrific  carnage  among  them.  This  formidable  host  was 
totally  routed,  while  the  infantes  took  or  dispersed  the  Moorish 
vessels,  commanded  by  a  prince  of  the  royal  house  of  Granada. 
This  splendid  success  drew  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  towards  this 
extremity  of  Africa. 

During  these  years  the  king  was  constantly  employed  in  the 
duties  of  administration.  In  1422  he  lost  his  constable,  Dom 
Nunho  Alvarez  Pereiro,  who  left  the  court  for  the  cloister,  and 
passed  the  last  nine  years  of  his  life  in  penitence  and  prayer.  In 
1433  he  followed  that  celebrated  man  to  the  grave.  His  actions 
will  best  bespeak  his  character.  We  may  add  that  his  generosity 
was  truly  royal,  that  he  rewarded  his  servants  with  a  prodigal 
hand,  that  he  founded  some  religious  edifices,  and  made  some  addi- 
tion to  the  legislative  code  of  his  country.  As  he  advanced  in 
years  his  sense  of  justice  appears  to  have  greatly  improved;  at 
least  we  hear  no  more  of  the  violent  acts  which  disgraced  his  early 
days,  and  which  will  forever  tarnish  his  memory. 

In  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  Portuguese  began  their  famous 


304  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1419 

career  of  maritime  discovery.  His  son,  the  infante  Henrique,  who 
had  made  the  mathematical  sciences  and  navigation  a  continual 
studv,  was  the  first  to  enter  on  this  course.  To  facilitate  his  long- 
meditated  enterprise,  he  fixed  his  abode  in  the  kingdom  of  Algarve, 
on  the  most  elevated  point  of  Cape  St.  Vincent;  a  spot  which  he 
also  considered  as  favorable  to  his  astronomical  observations,  and 
where  he  founded  the  town  of  Sagres.  The  first  voyage,  with  two 
frail  barks,  was  undertaken  in  1419,  and  extended  only  about  five 
degrees  of  latitude,  and  was  consequently  unsuccessful.  The  fol- 
lowing year,  however,  three  vessels  being  equipped  for  a  much 
longer  adventure,  arrived  at  the  Madeiras,  which  had  been  previ- 
ously discovered  by  Machin,  and  took  possession,  A  subsequent 
expedition  penetrated  as  far  south  as  Sierra  Leone,  within  three 
degrees  of  the  line.  But  this  enterprise  was  considered  too  hardy  to 
be  immediately  improved ;  from  this  time  half  a  century  had  elapsed 
before  any  Portuguese  vessel  ventured  beyond  these  latitudes, 
though  the  Canaries  were,  in  the  interim,  discovered  by  some  Bis- 
cayan  mariners.  Martin  V.  granted  to  the  nation  of  the  royal 
Henrique  the  dominion  of  the  regions  which  might  thenceforward 
be  discovered  from  Cape  Bojador  to  the  Indies.  If  this  prince  was 
thus  given  to  voyages,  his  brother  Pedro  was  no  less  addicted  to 
traveling.  In  1424,  accompanied  by  twelve  of  his  most  faithful 
servants,  he  first  repaired  to  the  court  of  the  Greek  emperor,  where 
he  was  received  in  a  manner  becoming  his  birth.  The  soldan  of 
Babylon  afforded  him  a  no  less  magnificent  reception.  Having 
worshiped  in  the  holy  places  of  Palestine,  he  sailed  for  Rome, 
where  the  pope  presented  him  with  a  bull  permitting  the  kings  of 
Portugal,  like  those  of  France,  to  be  anointed  and  crowned.  While 
in  Germany  he  aided  the  Emperor  Sigismund  in  the  wars  against 
Hungary  and  Venice.  By  the  English  Henry  VI.  he  was  received 
with  even  greater  distinction,  and  admitted  among  the  knights  of 
the  garter.  He  returned  to  his  own  country,  after  an  absence  of 
about  four  years,  and  was  regarded  as  a  living  prodigy;  and  a 
prodigy  he  really  was,  at  a  time  when  long  journeys  were  unknown, 
and  when  no  man  traveled  from  one  kingdom  to  another  without 
making  his  will. 

By  Joam  I.  the  era  of  Caesar  was  abolished  in  Portugal,  and 
the  Christian  mode  of  computation  adopted. 

The  reign  of  Duarte,  or  Edward,  though  short,  was  doomed 
to   be  more   disastrous   than   that   of  any   prcvcding  monarch   of 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  305 

1437 

Lusitania,  The  first  great  calamity  was  the  plague  which  raged 
during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  and  which  lamentably  thinned  the 
population.  But  a  greater  was  the  expedition  against  Tangier, 
the  preparations  for  which  oppressed  his  people,  and  the  result  of 
which  filled  the  kingdom  with  murmurs. 

The  restless  ambition  of  the  king's  brother,  Ferdinand,  hur- 
ried him  into  this  disastrous  enterprise.  This  infante  had  been  too 
young  to  share  in  the  glorious  conquests  of  Ceuta:  and  had  not, 
like  Pedro  or  Henrique,  obtained  celebrity  either  by  traveling  or 
science.  But  he  burned  for  distinction  as  much  as  either:  and  he 
now  solicited  the  royal  permission  to  leave  the  kingdom  and  to 
enter  the  service  of  some  European  power.  Duarte,  who  regarded 
this  request  as  the  offspring  of  discontent,  promised  to  increase 
his  revenues,  but  forbade  him  to  depart.  Henrique  next  proposed 
an  African  expedition,  at  first  with  no  better  success ;  but  both 
infantes  having  gained  the  queen  to  their  views,  whose  influence 
over  the  mind  of  the  king  was  all-powerful,  a  reluctant  consent 
was  at  length  wrung  from  him.  He  seems,  however,  to  have  en- 
tertained very  honorable  scruples  as  to  the  justice  of  the  warfare 
in  which  he  was  about  to  engage.  The  Moors  had  not  lately  in- 
jured his  people  except  in  their  natural  endeavor  to  recover  Ceuta ; 
and  he  could  no  more  reconcile  to  his  conscience  the  forcibly  de- 
priving them  of  their  possessions  than  if  he  entered  the  house  and 
despoiled  the  substance  of  a  neighbor.  Consideration,  later  on, 
removed  the  scruples  of  Duarte,  and  the  expedition  was  resolved. 

The  inexperience  which  governed  the  preparations  and  the 
accidental  hindrances  which  impeded  their  completion  were  re- 
garded as  melancholy  omens  by  the  people.  The  armament  sailed 
on  August  22,  1437,  and  on  the  26th  arrived  before  Ceuta,  a 
place  which  the  heroic  governor  and  his  no  less  heroic  son  had 
continued  to  defend  with  the  same  success.  From  the  gates  they 
had  made  frequent  excursions  to  a  considerable  distance — twice 
as  far  as  Tetuan :  the  first  inroad  had  been  without  success,  but  the 
second  time  the  terrified  inhabitants  had  abandoned  the  city  to  the 
Christians,  who  had  wrapped  it  in  flames.  The  two  infantes,  Hen- 
rique and  Ferdinand,  who  commanded  the  present  expedition,  were 
inflamed  by  the  desire  of  equal  glory;  but  their  ardor  was  for  a 
moment  damped  when  they  perceived  that  instead  of  14,000  men, 
the  number  ordered  by  the  king,  they  had  no  more  than  6,000. 
Whether  this  deplorable  proof  of  mismanagement  was  their  work, 


306  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1437 

or  that  of  the  ministers  at  home,  was  now  vain  to  inquire.  They 
were  advised  to  soHcit  and  wait  for  a  considerable  reinforcement, 
but  with  their  usual  impatience  they  resolved  to  proceed  to  Tan- 
gier— Henrique  by  land  and  Ferdinand  by  sea,  so  as  to  co- 
operate with  each  other.  The  former,  who  proposed  to  march  by 
way  of  Alcager,  dispatched  Joam  de  Pereira,  one  of  his  captains, 
with  a  thousand  men,  to  reconnoiter  the  country.  Pereira  soon  fell 
in  with  a  great  body  of  Moors  whom  he  attacked  and  dispersed. 
On  his  representation  that  the  route  from  Ceuta  to  Alcager  was 
impracticable,  Henrique  proceeded  by  way  of  Tetuan.  He  reached 
Tangier  without  accident  on  September  23,  and  found  that  his 
brother  had  arrived  before  him.  The  Portuguese  immediately 
encamped  before  the  place,  which  was  defended  by  Sala  ben 
Sala,  former  governor  of  Ceuta,  with  7,000  Moors.  Scarcely 
were  the  operations  commenced  when  a  report  was  artfully  spread 
by  the  Africans  that  they  were  preparing  to  abandon  the  fortress, 
the  gates  of  which  were  opened  as  if  for  the  purpose.  The  credu- 
lous Christians  hastened  to  take  possession,  but  as  they  approached 
the  gates  the  Moors  spitefully  shut  them,  and  increased  their  rage 
by  an  insulting  laugh.  After  a  siege  of  thirty-eight  days,  when 
some  parts  of  the  walls  were  shaken,  a  general  assault  was  decreed. 
While  the  infante  Ferdinand  and  the  Count  de  Arroyalos  attacked 
on  the  side  of  Fez,  the  martial  bishop  of  Ceuta  and  Dom  Ferdinand 
Continho  advanced  on  another:  the  infante  Henrique  assaulted  the 
fortress  as  being  best  defended.  But  as  if  every  measure  of  this 
ill-concerted  expedition  were  doomed  to  be  at  once  imbecile  and 
unsuccessful,  after  sustaining  a  heav}?-  loss,  the  besiegers  finding 
that  their  scaling  ladders  were  too  short  were  compelled  to  retreat 
with  shame  from  the  foot  of  the  ramparts.  Before  others  could 
be  procured  from  Ceuta,  the  Moors  of  Fez  and  Morocco,  amount- 
ing, we  are  gravely  told,  in  number  to  1,000  horse  and  8,000  in- 
fantry, advanced  to  raise  the  siege.  Instead,  however,  of  being 
alarmed  at  this  prodigious  force,  Henrique  with  4,000  of  his 
valiant  troops  hastened  to  give  them  battle ;  but  so  great  was  the 
dread  which  this  heroic  little  band  had  struck  into  that  immense 
host  that  none  of  the  misbelievers  daring  to  wait  for  the  onset, 
all  escaped  with  precipitation  over  the  neighboring  hills!  But  as 
their  numbers  soon  increased  by  new  accessions  to  13,000  men, 
they  returned,  and  this  time  fought  with  courage.  After  a  strug- 
gle of  some  hours  this  vast  force  yielded  to  the  impetuosity  of  the 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  307 

1437 

infante  Ferdinand  and  fled,  leaving  some  thousands  dead  on  the 
field.  These  wondrous  fables  are  not  enough.  Indignant  at  the 
repeated  losses  of  their  brethren,  the  kings  of  northwestern 
Africa  combined  the  whole  of  the  respective  forces,  and  marched 
towards  the  place.  The  surprise  of  Henrique  was  great  on  seeing 
the  neighboring  hills  moving  with  life;  the  number  of  enemies  on 
this  occasion,  we  are  veraciously  assured,  being  60,000  cavalry, 
and  700,000  foot!  But  if  surprised,  he  was  not  despairing:  he 
intrusted  the  command  of  the  artillery  to  one  officer,  of  the  in- 
fantry to  another,  and  with  the  cavalry  posted  himself  on  an 
eminence.  On  contemplating,  however,  the  dense  and  widely  ex- 
tended ranks  of  the  Moslems,  even  he  acknowledged  that  to  with- 
stand such  a  host  would  be  temerity.  He  accordingly  gave 
directions  for  his  little  army  to  fall  back  and  to  regain  the  ships. 
Before  this  could  be  effected,  the  Africans,  like  tigers  of  their  own 
deserts,  sprang  upon  them,  eager  to  drink  their  blood.  Like  a 
wall  of  adamant  the  infante  and  his  devoted  band  received  the 
shock  and  repelled  it.  His  horse  falling  under  him  he  mounted 
that  of  a  page,  turned  round  on  the  enemy,  and  made  dreadful 
havoc  among  them.  But  the  Portuguese  could  do  nothing  against 
the  myriads ;  his  guards  were  killed  by  his  side,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  retreat,  fighting,  however,  at  every  step,  until  he  reached 
the  intrenchments,  where  the  contest  became  more  bloody  and  des- 
perate than  it  had  yet  been.  Some  of  the  defenders  now  fled, — 
for  the  chroniclers  reluctantly  allow  that  even  a  Portuguese  may 
flee, — but  the  seamen  on  board  the  vessel  landed,  forced  the 
fugitives  to  return,  and  the  conflict  was  sustained  during  some 
hours  with  miraculous  valor!  Towards  night  it  was  suspended; 
and  the  infante  agreed  with  his  remaining  captains  that  at  mid- 
night the  Christians  should  silently  leave  their  intrenchments,  pass 
to  the  beach,  and  be  received  on  board.  As  tlie  invaders  were  now 
without  provisions  and  water,  this  expedient  was  the  only  hope 
of  safety  which  remained  to  them.  But  even  of  this  they  were 
soon  deprived  by  the  treachery  of  IVIartin  Vieyra,  Henrique's 
chaplain,  who  passed  over  to  the  misbelievers,  and  acquainted  them 
with  the  project.  In  consequence  of  tliis  information,  the  Moors 
stationed  a  formidable  guard  along  the  passages  to  the  sea  and 
on  the  beach.  The  following  morning  they  advanced  to  the 
trenches;  the  battle  was  renewed,  and  sustained  for  eight  hoin\s 
with  unshaken  firmness,  though  with  greatly  diminished  numbers. 


308  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1437 

On  this  occasion  no  one  exhibited  more  valor  than  the  bishop  of 
Ceuta,  as  he  strode  from  rank  to  rank  to  distribute  indulgences  with 
one  hand,  with  the  other  he  hewed  down  the  misbelievers  in  a 
style  that  called  for  the  enthusiastic  admiration  of  the  faith- 
ful. His  armor  was  so  shattered  by  the  blows  he  received 
that  his  pontifical  robes  underneath  were  partially  visible:  some- 
times he  turned  for  a  moment  to  bless  or  absolve;  but  no 
sooner  had  the  words  of  peace  left  his  lips  than  another  stroke  of 
his  sword  sent  a  pagan  soul  to  its  dark  account.  In  the  end  the 
enemy,  unable  to  force  the  intrenchments,  set  them  on  fire,  and 
on  the  approach  of  night  retired.  The  hours  which  should  have 
been  given  to  rest  were  occupied  in  extinguishing  the  conflagra- 
tion, a  labor  not  less  fatiguing  than  the  conflict  of  the  day.  To 
allay  the  hunger  of  his  followers  the  infante  ordered  the  horses 
to  be  killed ;  but  as  there  was  no  water,  and  as  everyone  raged 
with  a  burning  thirst,  the  boon  was  scarcely  acceptable  until 
heaven  sent  a  copious  shower  of  rain.  But  however  seasonable 
this  relief,  it  could  only  be  momentary.  Famine,  or  death  by  the 
sword,  or  w'hat  was  still  worse,  perpetual  captivity,  stared  the  un- 
happy Christians  in  the  face,  when  they  received  a  proposal  which 
they  could  not  have  expected.  They  were  promised  both  life  and 
liberty,  as  the  condition  of  their  surrendering  the  artillery,  arms, 
and  baggage,  and  restoring  the  fortress  of  Ceuta.  To  men  in  their 
desperate  condition  this  proposal  was  too  liberal  not  to  be  joyfully 
accepted.  For  their  performance  of  the  covenant  the  infante 
Ferdinand  offered  himself  as  hostage;  and  was  accompanied  by 
four  other  knights.  The  Moors  delivered  into  the  hands  of  Hen- 
rique a  son  of  Sala  ben  Sala.  The  chiefs  and  a  great  part  of  the 
African  army  now  left  Tangier;  while  the  Portuguese,  reduced  to 
3,000,  prepared  to  re-embark.  But  w-ith  characteristic  duplicity, 
the  barbarians  attempted  to  prevent  the  departure  of  the  Christians, 
who  were  constrained  to  fight  their  way  to  the  ships. 

While  his  once  proud  armament  was  slowly  returning  to  Lis- 
bon, Henrique,  ashamed  to  appear  at  court,  proceeded  to  Ceuta, 
where  fatigue  of  body  and  anxiety  of  mind  threw  him  into  a  seri- 
ous illness.  No  sooner  did  Prince  Joam,  who  was  then  in  Algarve, 
hear  of  the  illness  of  one  brother  and  the  captivity  of  another, 
than  he  repaired  to  Ceuta.  The  two  infantes  there  agreed  that, 
as  the  royal  consent  to  the  restoration  of  the  fortress  could  not 
reasonably  be  expected,  Joam  should  propose  the  exchange  of  their 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  S09 

1437 

brother  for  the  son  of  the  African.  The  proposal  was  scornfully 
rejected  by  the  Moors,  who  threatened,  if  the  place  were  not  im- 
mediately restored,  to  take  signal  revenge  on  the  person  of  the 
infante.  Joam  now  returned  to  Portugal  to  acquaint  the  king 
with  the  melancholy  position  of  affairs.  Henrique  also  repaired 
to  court  from  his  observatory  on  Cape  St.  Vincent  to  consult  on 
the  means  of  liberating  the  royal  captive.  It  was  resolved  that 
the  prince  should  remain  in  captivity  until  the  efficacy  of  money 
should  be  proved  vain.  His  sufferings  are  represented, — probably, 
with  truth, — for  the  African  Moors  are  destitute  of  any  virtue, 
as  at  once  cruel  and  humiliating.  No  sooner  was  he  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  Sala  ben  Sala,  than  he  began  to  experience  the  most 
savage  barbarity.  So  long  as  there  was  hope  that  Ceuta  would  be 
restored,  this  treatment  was  sometimes  suspended ;  but  when  no 
answer  arrived  to  the  letters  written  by  the  Moor  to  the  Portuguese 
court,  it  was  aggravated  in  severity.  No  ransom  would  be  re- 
ceived by  Sala,  whose  only  object  was  the  recovery  of  his  lost  seat 
of  government.  But  when  the  king  of  Castile,  Juan  II.,  began  to 
remonstrate  against  the  detention  of  the  infante,  and  even  to 
threaten  hostilities  unless  a  ransom  were  received  for  him,  the 
Moor,  unwilling  to  incur  the  responsibility  of  his  charge,  delivered 
him  into  the  hands  of  his  superior,  the  king  of  Fez.  By  that  tyrant 
Ferdinand  was  consigned  to  a  subterraneous  dungeon,  excluded 
alike  from  air  and  light.  After  some  months,  however,  he  was 
drawn  from  his  prison, — doubtless  because  his  persecutors  knew 
that  a  longer  confinement  would  soon  place  him  beyond  their 
reach — and  made  to  work,  like  the  vilest  slave,  in  the  royal  stables 
and  gardens.  In  this  situation  he  heard  of  Dom  Duarte's  death; 
but  the  intelligence,  which  was  confirmed  by  events,  was  accom- 
panied by  a  report,  which,  unfortunately  for  him,  proved  to  be 
untrue — that,  in  his  last  testament,  his  brother  had  directed  Ceuta 
to  be  restored.  It  was  for  a  time  believed  by  the  Moorish  king, 
who  ordered  him  to  be  treated  with  less  severity,  but  who,  at  the 
same  time,  resolved  that  not  even  the  surrender  of  the  fortress, 
without  a  large  sum  of  money,  should  set  him  free.  No  sooner 
was  the  intelligence  found  to  be  erroneous  than,  in  revenge,  the 
victim  was  subjected  to  new  indignities.  Not  only  was  he  de- 
prived of  all  food,  except  a  crust  of  bread  once  in  twenty-four 
hours,  but  he  was  ironed,  put  to  harder  labor,  and  allowed  no  ap- 
parel beyond  a  rag,  for  the  modesty  of  nature.    The  relation  of  his 


310  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1438 

sufferings  at  length  moved  the  pity  of  his  brother,  Pedro,  regent 
of  the  kingdom,  who,  in  the  name  of  the  royal  Alfonso,  dispatched 
commissioners  to  Ceuta  to  receive  the  infante  and  to  remit  the 
keys  of  that  fortress  into  the  hands  of  the  king  of  Fez.  But  they 
soon  found  that  the  barbarian  had  further  views ;  that  he  insisted 
on  the  restoration  of  the  place  prior  to  the  delivery  of  his  captive; 
that  his  object  was  to  gain  possession  of  their  persons,  and  be 
thereby  enabled  to  dictate  whatever  terms  he  pleased.  The  nego- 
tiations were  abruptly  ended,  and  the  ill-fated  prince  returned  to  his 
dungeon,  where  he  languished  until  1443,  when  death  put  a  period 
to  his  sufferings. 

The  unfortunate  issue  of  the  African  war,  and  the  complaints 
of  his  captive  brother,  most  sensibly  affected  the  heart  of  Duarte, 
over  whom,  had  his  life  been  spared,  fraternal  affection  would, 
doubtless,  have  triumphed.  That  he  meditated  another  expedi- 
tion, and  that  he  commenced  preparations  on  a  formidable  scale, 
is  honorable  to  his  heart;  but  his  subjects  were  thinned  by  the 
plague ;  commerce  was  suspended ;  the  fields  remained  uncultivated ; 
the  public  revenues  were  exhausted,  and  the  people  unwnlling  to 
make  further  sacrifices.  Unfortunately  for  his  people  his  life  was 
too  short  for  the  benefits  he  meditated.  In  1438  he  was  seized  by 
the  plague  at  Tomar,  whither  he  had  retired  to  escape  its  fury,  and 
in  a  few  days  he  breathed  his  last.  This  prince  was  worthy  of 
a  better  fate.  He  had  qualities  of  a  high  order; — he  was  en- 
lightened, just,  and  patriotic,  and  if  virtue  or  talent  could  have 
controlled  the  course  of  human  events  his  kingdom  would  have 
been  happy. 

Alfonso  v.,  the  eldest  son  of  Duarte,  being  only  six  years  of 
age  on  his  father's  death,  the  regency  devolved  in  conformity  with 
the  last  will  of  her  husband  on  the  queen-mother,  a  princess  of 
excellent  disposition,  but  not  exempted  from  the  fickleness  of  her 
sex.  and  ill-qualified  to  rule  a  fierce  people.  To  such  a  people 
the  sway  even  of  a  native  woman  could  scarcely  have  been  agree- 
able; as  a  foreigner  (a  princess  of  Aragon),  she  was  peculiarly 
obnoxious.  Seeing  this  general  discontent,  some  of  the  nobles, 
with  three  uncles  of  the  king,  resolved  to  profit  by  it.  By  their 
intrigues,  by  their  artful  reports  and  injurious  surmises,  they  con- 
trived to  embarrass  her  from  the  beginning  of  her  administration. 
Of  tlic  tliree  infantes,  the  hostility  of  Joam  was  the  most  bitter, 
of  Henrique  the  most  disinterested,  of  Pedro  the  most  politic,  the 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  311 

1439 

most  ambitious,  and  consequently  the  most  to  be  dreaded.  Though 
possessed  of  no  great  sagacity,  the  queen  perceived  where  the 
danger  lay,  and  offered  to  Dom  Pedro  to  affiance  his  daughter 
Isabella  with  the  young  king — an  offer  which  lie  readily  accepted, 
but  which  in  no  manner  interrupted  his  career  of  ambition.  But 
learning  of  this  the  nobles  in  the  interest  of  the  queen,  and  of  the 
Count  de  Barcelos,  a  natural  brother  of  the  infante's,  and  the  more 
numerous  party  who  envied  the  success  of  Pedro,  organized  an 
opposition  which  threatened  to  displace  him  from  his  eminence. 
At  this  crisis  Henrique  proposed  in  the  states  assembled  at  Lisbon 
that  the  executive  should  be  divided, — that  the  education  of  the 
king  and  the  care  of  the  finances  should  rest  with  the  queen,  that 
the  administration  of  justice  should  be  intrusted  to  the  Count  de 
Barcelos,  and  that  Pedro  should  be  nominated  protector  of  the 
kingdom.  Pedro  was  dissatisfied  with  the  division  of  power,  the 
Count  de  Barcelos  with  the  proposed  marriage  of  the  Princess 
Isabella  with  the  king,  for  whom  he  intended  his  own  daughter,  and 
the  queen  with  them  both.  The  queen  now  joined  the  count  in 
forcing  Pedro  to  surrender  the  written  engagement  as  to  the  mar- 
riage; but  the  latter  had  soon  his  revenge.  To  bring  the  question 
of  the  regency  to  an  issue,  the  populace,  the  only  authority  then 
subsisting,  assembled  in  the  church  of  St.  Dominic  and  swore 
that  until  Alfonso  reached  his  majority  the  government  should 
rest  in  Dom  Pedro.  Fidelity  was  at  length  sworn  to  the  new 
regent  in  the  cathedral  of  Lisbon ;  and,  to  exclude  Leonora  from 
the  hope  of  any  share  in  the  administration,  it  was  at  the  same  time 
ordained  that  if  Pedro  died  he  should  be  succeeded  in  the  office 
by  his  brother  Henrique,  and  the  latter  by  the  infante  Joam,  and 
that  thenceforward  no  woman  should  be  allowed  to  rule  the  Portu- 
guese. This  was  not  all :  the  princess  was  to  be  wounded  in  her 
affection,  as  well  as  her  ambition.  Under  the  pretext  that  the 
education  of  the  young  king,  if  left  to  her,  must  necessarily  be 
effeminate  and  unfit  him  for  his  station,  he  was  removed  by  a 
sudden  decree  of  the  same  Cortes  from  her  care,  and  placed  under 
that  of  the  regent. 

Though  compelled  to  obey  the  popular  voice,  which  on  this 
occasion  was  that  of  the  kingdom,  Leonora  was  eager  to  regain 
her  authority.  Fleeing  to  Castile  the  (uicen.  supported  by  the  repre- 
sentations, and  even  threats,  of  Juan  TT.,  labored  in  vain  to  regain 
her    lost     influence.       Those    representations    and     threats     were 


312  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1445 

treated  with  open  contempt;  yet  the  states  agreed  to  pay  her  an 
annual  pension  corresponding  to  her  rank,  on  the  condition  that 
she  remained  out  of  the  kingdom — a  condition  which  she  rejected. 
In  1445  she  formally  requested  permission  to  return  to  end  her 
days  with  her  children,  and  her  wish  w^ould  doubtless  have  been 
gratified   had  not  death  surprised  her  at  Toledo. 

In  1446  King  Alfonso  reached  his  fourteenth  year — the 
period  of  his  majority.  His  first  acts  were  regarded  by  the  people 
as  favorable  omens  of  his  future  administration,  and,  above  all, 
of  his  disposition  to  cultivate  a  good  understanding  with  the 
regent.  When,  in  the  Cortes  convoked  for  the  occasion  at  Lisbon, 
Pedro  resigned  the  delegated  authority  into  his  hands,  he  desired 
the  latter  to  retain  it  till  he  was  better  able  to  bear  the  load ;  and 
he  soon  afterwards  married  Isabella,  to  whom  he  had  been  affianced 
in  his  tenth  year.  But  these  buds  of  hope  were  soon  blighted.  The 
regent  was  powerful ;  he  therefore  had  enemies — and  enemies  the 
more  bitter,  that  there  was  now  a  master  who  could  destroy  him 
with  ease.  Of  these  none  were  more  vindictive  or  base  than  his 
natural  brother,  the  Count  de  Barcelos:  we  may  add,  that  none 
could  be  more  ungrateful ;  for  on  this  very  brother  he  had  just  con- 
ferred the  lordship  of  Braganza,  with  the  title  of  duke.  This  duke, 
— for  such  we  must  hereafter  call  him, — whose  soul  was  as  base 
as  his  birth,  endeavored  by  the  most  abject  flattery,  and  by  the 
meanest  attentions,  to  win  the  favor  of  the  young  sovereign  and 
poison  his  mind  against  the  character  and  actions  of  the  regent. 
He  succeeded  too  well :  his  society  became  a  necessary  not  to  be  dis- 
pensed with.  At  length  Pedro,  believing  that  his  enemies  were  such 
from  ambitious  motives  and  in  private  life  would  cease  to  perse- 
cute him,  requested  permission  to  retire  to  Coimbra,  of  which  he  was 
duke.  His  request  was  granted ;  and  so  also  was  another — an  act, 
under  the  royal  signature  and  seal,  approving  the  whole  of  his  admin- 
istration. No  sooner  had  he  departed  than  a  hundred  reptiles  darted 
their  stings.  Among  the  new  charges  brought  against  him  was  one 
of  incredible  boldness — that  which  fastened  on  him  the  guilt  of  poi- 
soning the  late  king  and  queen.  In  vain  did  the  sage  Plenrique 
hasten  from  his  aerial  residence  above  Cape  St.  Vincent  to  vindicate 
the  character  of  his  brother;  in  vain  did  Dom  Alfonso  de  Almado,  a 
nobleman  of  unsullied  honor,  join  in  the  chivalrous  act, — for  chival- 
rous it  was,  when  the  lives  of  both  were  threatened  as  their  reward  if 
they  did  not  immediately  retire  from  the  court;  in  vain  did  the 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  313 

1446-1449 

latter  enter  the  royal  council,  inveigh  against  the  atrocious  designs 
of  some  courtiers,  and  challenge  all  who  dared  to  dispute  Dom 
Pedro's  virtues  to  a  mortal  combat;  in  vain  did  the  royal  Isabella 
plead  her  father's  innocence ; — the  victim's  doom  appeared  to  be 
sealed.  Alfonso  published  an  edict  debarring  all  his  subjects  from 
communication  with  the  prince,  and  ordering  him  to  remain  on 
his  estates.  The  duke  of  Braganza  now  assembled  his  troops  and 
marched  towards  Coimbra :  he  was  met  by  Dom  Pedro,  before 
whose  handful  of  brave  friends  he  fled  with  ignominy,  and  re- 
turned to  court,  to  incense  the  king  still  more.  Finally,  by  ma- 
neuvers which  no  stranger  to  a  court  could  suppose  possible,  he 
and  his  murderous  faction  obtained  a  royal  decree  declaring  the 
duke  of  Coimbra  a  traitor  and  rebel.  Seeing  that  his  destruction 
was  resolved,  the  latter  no  longer  hesitated  as  to  what  course  he 
should  pursue.  In  self-defense  he  laid  in  provisions  for  a  siege 
in  Coimbra.  Hearing,  however,  that  the  king  in  person  was 
coming  to  besiege  him,  he  hastily  prepared  to  meet  his  enemies — • 
not,  he  said,  to  oppose  his  king,  but  to  vindicate  his  own  cause,  and 
to  defy  his  calumniators. 

Before  the  duke  left  Coimbra  he  retired  into  his  chapel  with 
his  friend,  Dom  Almado,  who  had  so  courageously  defended  him 
before  the  royal  council.  To  the  count  he  unbosomed  his  heart, 
asserted  that  he  was  tired  of  life,  that,  unless  his  justification  were 
received  by  the  king,  he  could  not  and  would  not  support  it,  and 
concluded  by  hoping  that  in  this  last  extremity  he  should  not  be 
forsaken  by  his  friend.  Dom  Alvaro  fell  at  his  feet,  kissed  his 
hands,  and  expressed  an  unalterable  resolution  of  living  and  dying 
with  him.  They  next  embraced  each  other,  and  set  out,  persuaded 
that  they  were  marching  to  certain  death.  Their  troops  were  com- 
posed of  i.ooo  horse  and  5,000  foot,  all  resolved  to  perish  rather 
than  permit  a  beloved  leader  to  be  oppressed ;  and  on  their  banners 
were  engraven  "  Fidelity!  Justice!  Vengeance!  "  His  enemies  took 
care  to  represent  his  march  towards  the  capital  as  the  consequence 
of  his  resolution  to  dethrone  Alfonso.  To  arrest  it,  the  king 
hastened  to  meet  him,  with  about  30.000  veteran  troops;  they  ap- 
proached each  other  on  tlie  banks  of  the  Alfarrobeira.  above  which 
was  an  eminence  where  Pedro  entrenched  himself.  Just  before 
the  assault  was  given,  a  royal  edict  was  proclaimed,  ordering  his 
followers  to  forsake  tlie  infante  unless  they  wished  to  be  involved 
in  his  destruction.     Some  abandoned  him,  but    the    majority  re- 


314  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1446-1456 

mained  faithful.  For  some  hours,  notwithstanding  the  alarming 
disproportion  of  numbers,  the  attack  was  repelled  with  heroic 
valor;  but  Pedro,  who  desperately  sought  the  most  dangerous  post, 
and  who  evidently  resolved  to  sacrifice  his  life,  fell  through  a 
wound  in  the  throat.  No  sooner  was  the  surviving  friend,  Dom 
Alvaro,  acquainted  with  this  catastrophe  than  he  seized  his  lance, 
mounted  his  horse,  and  plunged  into  the  midst  of  the  hostile  squad- 
rons. Though  he  laid  many  low,  he  w-as  not  long  in  receiving  the 
death  he  sought.  The  carnage  which  followed  was  terrific:  the 
troops  of  the  fallen  infante,  intent  on  revenging  his  death  and  re- 
solved on  their  own,  would  neither  give  nor  receive  quarter:  al- 
most all  fell  on  the  field.  The  vengeance  of  Alfonso  passed  beyond 
the  grave :  he  ordered  the  corpse  of  Pedro  to  remain  on  the  ground, 
to  be  forever  deprived  of  the  last  rites  of  humanity;  but  in  a  few 
days  some  compassionate  peasants,  whose  souls  might  have  put 
to  shame  the  boasted  chivalry  of  nobles,  privately  removed  it  and 
interred  it  in  the  church  of  Alverca,  This  was  not  the  worst : 
amidst  the  excitement  of  the  moment  many  suspected  of  sym- 
pathy for  the  ill-fated  prince  were  massacred,  and  the  descendants 
of  all  his  adherents  to  the  fourth  generation  declared  infamous — 
incapable  of  holding  any  public  charge. 

The  death  of  this  prince, — the  greatest  whom  Portugal  had 
lately  seen, — caused  a  deep  sensation  throughout  Europe,  and  from 
Rome  to  Britain  drew  forth  nothing  but  execrations  against  his 
murderers.  Of  his  children,  who  were  compelled  to  flee  from  the 
kingdom,  and  who  were  in  the  sequel  permitted  to  return,  the  eld- 
est, Pedro,  was  the  only  one  that  availed  himself  of  the  permission. 
To  prevent  the  return  of  these  princes,  and  to  escape  the  justice 
due  to  its  crimes,  was  the  constant  aim  of  the  base  house  of 
Braganza.  That  the  queen,  whose  favor  with  the  king  was  too 
firm  to  be  shaken,  would  at  length  have  procured  the  punishment 
of  her  father's  murderers  is  exceedingly  probable;  but  in  1455, 
while  in  the  possession  of  youth  and  health,  she  suddenly  sickened 
and  died. 

The  disastrous  captivity  of  the  infante  Ferdinand  had  sunk 
deep  into  the  heart  of  Alfonso,  as  into  that  of  most  princes  of  his 
family;  and  the  desire  of  revenge  had  been  suspended,  not 
abandoned.  A  circumstance  which  was  calculated  to  suspend  it 
some  time  longer  hastened  its  execution.  The  reduction  of  Con- 
stantinople by  tlie  Turks  had  filled  Christian  Europe  with  conster- 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  315 

1457-1459 

nation,  and  had  led  to  the  formation  of  a  general  league,  the  object 
of  which  was  to  drive  back  the  misbelievers  into  their  Asiatic 
wilds.  But  the  death  of  the  pope,  who  had  so  zealously  espoused 
the  holy  warfare,  and  the  dissensions  of  the  Christian  princes  oc- 
casioned the  dissolution  of  the  confederacy.  Of  these  none  had 
exhibited  more  zeal  than  Alfonso,  whose  preparations  in  the  ports 
of  Lisbon,  Setubal,  and  Oporto  were  now  disposable  against  the 
African  Moors.  His  original  intention  was  to  reduce  the  fortress 
of  Tangier,  the  siege  of  which  had  proved  so  unfortunate  to  the 
Princes  Henrique  and  Ferdinand;  but  the  advice  of  a  Portuguese 
noble,  then  at  Ceuta,  who  probably  dreaded  the  issue  of  an  attempt 
on  that  strong  fortress,  determined  him  to  invest  Alcacar  Seguer. 
In  September,  1457,  the  armament,  consisting  of  above  200  vessels, 
and  carrying  20,000  men,  sailed  from  the  three  ports,  effected  a 
junction  at  sea,  and  steered  towards  the  Moorish  coast.  On  the 
17th  of  the  following  month  it  arrived  before  the  place,  where, 
notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  enemy,  the  disembarkation 
was  effected  without  much  loss.  The  batteries  were  now  erected, 
towards  sunset  a  general  assault  was  ordered,  scaling-ladders  were 
placed  against  the  walls,  and  a  resolute  body  of  the  besiegers 
mounted.  The  reception,  however,  which  they  experienced  was  so 
warm  that  a  suspension  of  the  combat  followed.  No  sooner  did 
the  king  of  Fez  hear  that  the  Portuguese  were  preparing  to  invest 
Alcagar  Seguer  than  he  collected  troops  and  marched  to  relieve 
it.  On  the  way  he  heard  of  its  fall,  but  he  resolved  to  recover  it. 
Having  halted  to  receive  reinforcements,  on  the  13th  of  November, 
the  following  year,  the  king  appeared  before  the  place  at  the  head, 
we  are  told,  of  30,000  horse  and  a  prodigious  number  of  foot.  In 
vain  did  Alfonso,  who  advanced  from  Ceuta,  endeavor  to  throw 
supplies  into  the  fortress.  Disappointed  in  his  hope,  and  afraid 
with  forces  so  greatly  inferior  to  run  the  risk  of  an  action,  he 
caused  a  letter  to  be  thrown  over  the  walls  exhorting  the  gov- 
ernor to  hold  out  until  his  return  from  Portugal,  whither  he  found 
it  necessary  to  repair  for  reinforcements.  His  departure  animated 
the  courage  of  the  Moors,  but  did  not  deject  that  of  the  defenders. 
After  a  siege  of  many  days  the  Mohammedan  king  ordered  a 
general  assault,  which  was  repulsed  with  lieavy  loss;  so  heavy, 
indeed,  that  he  was  compelled  to  retire  in  search  of  reinforcements. 
In  July  the  following  year  the  ^Moorish  king  appeared  a  second 
time  before  it,  accompanied,  we  are  told,  by  the  most  numerous 


316  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1464-1471 

army  ever  collected  in  this  part  of  Africa.  But  on  the  present,  as 
on  the  former  occasion,  success  refused  to  shine  on  his  banners, 
and,  after  some  desperate  efforts,  which  were  signally  repulsed, 
he  resolved  to  raise  the  siege. 

The  success  which  had  attended  the  defense  of  Alcagar 
Seguer  animated  Alfonso  to  renew  the  attempt  on  Tangier.  Ac- 
cordingly, in  1464,  he  sailed  with  another  armament;  but  on  his 
reaching  the  African  coast  he  returned  to  Ceuta,  confiding  the  at- 
tack on  that  formidable  fortress  to  his  brother  Ferdinand.  The 
infante,  declining  the  aid  of  Duarte  de  Menezes,  the  valiant  de- 
fender of  Tangier,  lest  the  latter  should  reap  the  whole  glory  of 
the  conquest,  hastened  to  claim  it  for  himself.  But  though  the 
assault  was  vigorously  made,  it  was  repulsed  with  deplorable  loss; 
the  flower  of  the  Portuguese  chivalry  either  perished  on  the  spot, 
or  were  compelled  to  surrender.  This  disastrous  issue  filled  the 
king  with  dismay,  and  he  resolved  to  return  home.  Before  he  em- 
barked, however,  four  Moors,  with  characteristic  perfidy,  inti- 
mated that  if  he  made  an  excursion  to  a  neighboring  mountain 
he  might  take  abundant  spoil.  He  credulously  believed  them,  and, 
with  800  horse  and  a  small  body  of  infantry,  proceeded  towards 
the  place.  Being  artfully  drawn  into  the  passes,  he  was  assailed 
by  the  Moors  in  ambush,  most  of  his  knights,  among  whom  was 
the  heroic  Dom  Duarte,  were  cut  off  on  this  excursion,  and  he  him- 
self had  considerable  difficulty  in  effecting  his  escape.  For  some 
years  the  result  of  this  inglorious  expedition  seems  to  have  inspired 
him  with  too  much  dread  to  renew  the  attempt;  but  in  1471  he 
embarked  30,000  men  on  board  308  transports  and  proceeded  to 
invest  Arsilla,  a  fortress  on  the  Atlantic  about  seventeen  leagues 
from  the  straits  of  Gibraltar.  It  was  furiously  assailed  by  the 
Portuguese ;  was  as  furiously  defended  by  the  inhabitants,  who 
scorned  to  submit,  until  most  of  them  had  perished  with  arms  in 
tlieir  hands.  The  king  himself,  and  his  son,  the  infante  Joam,  were 
among  the  foremost  in  the  assault,  the  former  loudly  invoking  the 
aid  of  Our  Lady.  On  this  occasion  the  remembrance  of  their  late 
reverses  steeled  the  Portuguese  against  humanity,  and  they  mas- 
sacred all — as  well  those  who  resisted  as  those  who  threw  down 
their  arms  in  token  of  submission — with  diabolical  fury.  In  this 
work  of  ruthless  destruction  Joam  was  surpassed  by  none  of  his 
countrymen. 

In  the  meantime  Muley,  king  of  Fez,  advanced  to  raise  the 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  317 

1471-1479 

siege.  His  consternation,  on  finding  that  the  place  had  been  car- 
ried and  the  defenders  exterminated,  was  so  great,  that  he  sued 
for  peace.  But  his  mortifications  did  not  end  here.  Terrified  by 
the  fate  of  Arsilla,  and  convinced  that  the  victorious  army  would 
next  march  against  them,  the  inhabitants  of  Tangier  abandoned 
the  city  with  all  their  movable  substance.  It  was  immediately 
occupied  by  the  Christians  and  formed  into  an  episcopal  see. 

The  transactions  of  Alfonso  V.  with  Castile,  through  his 
meditated  union  with  Juana,  reputed  daughter  of  Enrique  IV., 
more  usually  termed  the  Beltraneja,  his  wars  with  the  Catholic 
sovereigns,  and  the  peace  of  1479,  have  been  already  related. 
There  are,  however,  some  circumstances  attending  his  assiduous 
court  to  the  French  king  that  must  not  be  passed  over  in  silence. 
Not  satisfied  with  sending  an  embassy  to  Louis  XL,  who  promised 
to  aid  him  to  the  extent  of  his  wishes,  in  1476  he  resolved  to  visit 
that  prince  in  person — a  mark  of  confidence  which  he  hoped  would 
operate  more  powerfully  in  his  favor  than  any  embassy.  How 
little  he  knew  the  perfidy  of  that  pretended  ally  appeared  from 
the  result  of  this  extraordinary  voyage.  If  there  be  any  truth  in 
a  report  of  the  time — a  report  too  well  confirmed  by  the  character 
of  Louis — his  arrest  and  delivery  into  the  hands  of  King  Ferdinand 
were  seriously  intended  on  his  visit  to  Paris.  It  appears  certain 
that  he  himself  suspected  the  perfidy,  and  that,  in  the  first  impulse 
of  his  disappointment,  he  resolved  to  visit  Palestine,  and  after- 
wards to  end  his  days  in  some  monastery.  It  is  no  less  certain  that 
he  sent  a  confidential  messenger  to  his  son  Joam,  whom  he  ac- 
quainted with  the  resolution,  and  whom  he  ordered  to  be  pro- 
claimed king;  that  he  secretly  repaired  into  Normandy,  for  the 
purpose  of  effecting  his  escape;  that  he  was  pursued  and  arrested 
by  order  of  Louis,  who,  however,  soon  repented  of  the  violence, 
set  him  free,  and  provided  vessels  for  his  return  into  Portugal. 
The  resolution  to  pass  his  days  in  religious  exercises  he  abandoned 
with  the  same  levity  he  had  formed  it.  On  landing  in  his  kingdom 
he  found  that  his  son  had  been  proclaimed ;  and  by  his  attendants 
apprehensions  were  entertained  lest  Joam  sliould  refuse  to  descend 
from  the  dignity.  However  this  may  be,  Joam  met  his  father,  to 
whom  he  resigned  the  dignity,  and  was,  in  appearance  at  least,  con- 
tented to  remain  a  subject  so  long  as  Alfonso  lived.  The  king's 
return  caused  great  joy  in  Portugal ;  he  was  loved,  wliilc  his  son  was 
feared;  the  one  was  clement  and  indulgent,  the  other  was  severe 


318  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1481-1482 

in  his  disposition,  and  of  inflexible  justice;  the  one  pardoned  real 
guilt,  the  other  spared  not  even  the  suspicion  of  crime. 

Alfonso  V.  did  not  long  survive  the  conclusion  of  peace  with 
Castile.  Like  his  father,  he  died  of  the  plague,  and  like  him,  too, 
in  the  prime  of  life ;  the  former  at  the  age  of  37,  himself  at  49,  of 
which  he  had  passed  43  on  the  throne.  With  the  exception  of  the 
accidental  success  in  Africa  his  reign  was  almost  uniformly  dis- 
astrous— a  misfortune  more  owing  to  the  deplorable  weakness  of 
his  character  than  to  any  other  cause.  His  reign  is,  however, 
somewhat  redeemed  by  the  discoveries  of  the  infante  Henrique, 
who,  from  his  residence  at  Tagus,  continued  to  fix  his  eyes  in- 
tently on  the  maritime  regions  of  western  Africa.  Through  this 
enlightened  prince,  the  Azores,  with  the  Madeiras,  the  Canaries, 
Cape  de  Verd,  and  other  islands  west  of  that  great  continent, 
were  discovered  or  colonized.  The  discovery  of  the  Cape  de  Verd, 
the  last  which  illustrated  the  life  of  Henrique,  was  owing  to  the 
enterprise  of  a  Genoese,  Antonio  Nolle,  who  had  derived  a  con- 
fused knowledge  of  their  existence  from  the  ancient  geographers, 
and  w^ho,  from  some  dissatisfaction  with  his  own  country,  offered 
his  services  to  the  prince.  Having  coasted  from  Morocco  to  Cape 
de  Verd,  he  deviated  westwards  and  soon  fell  in  with  the  islands, 
which  he  called  after  the  cape  of  that  name. 

When  Joam  H.  (John,  "the  Perfect")  ascended  the  throne, 
he  found  the  royal  revenues  so  much  diminished  by  the  profusion 
of  his  father  that  he  was  at  a  loss  how  to  conduct  the  administra- 
tion of  the  kingdom,  much  more,  if  the  necessity  should  arise,  of 
defending  it  against  foreign  ambition.  The  avarice  no  less  than 
the  haughtiness  of  the  aristocracy — haughty  alike  to  the  monarch 
and  peasant — had  long  sunk  deep  into  his  mind ;  and  he  was  now 
resolved  to  commence  a  series  of  reforms,  rendered  imperative 
alike  by  his  own  necessities  and  the  interests  of  his  people.  Joam 
soon  discovered  where  the  real  grievances  lay.  His  first  object 
was  to  introduce  a  nev/  oath,  to  be  taken  by  the  governors  of  all 
towns,  fortresses,  and  castles,  and  by  all  holders  of  fiefs,  limiting 
and  defining  their  dependence  on  the  royal  authority,  and  on  that 
alone.  He  next  abolished  the  worst  evil  of  feudal  institutions— 
tlie  power  of  life  and  death  by  the  lord  over  the  vassal,  and  re- 
served to  liiniself  alone,  or  his  own  judges,  the  prer(\gative  of 
deciding  in  ca])ital  cases.  By  another  ordinance,  he  subjected  the 
feudal  to  the  royal  tribunals,  and  provided    for  the    gradual  ex- 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  319 

1481-1482 

tinction  of  the  former;  thus  transferring  his  people  from  the  juris- 
diction of  local  tyrants  to  magistrates  nominated  by  and  dependent 
on  the  crown.  Nor  were  these  nominations  henceforth  to  be  made 
from  the  nobility  alone,  but  from  all  classes  of  the  people,  the  only 
qualifications  to  be  learning  and  merit. 

Reasonable  as  these  regulations  must  appear  to  every  modern 
reader,  they  were  exceedingly  disagreeable,  nay,  odious,  to  the 
nobles,  w^iom  they  deprived  of  irresponsible  power  and  reduced  to 
the  class  of  subjects.  From  murmurs  they  proceeded  to  remon- 
strances, which  they  confided  for  presentation  to  the  duke  of 
Braganza,  as  chief  of  their  order.  The  reply  he  received  was  truly 
regal,  and  one,  as  it  was  publicly  delivered,  that  deeply  mortified 
his  pride.  He  was  sternly  told  that  he  had  no  right  to  judge  the 
actions,  much  less  to  censure  the  motives,  of  kings;  that  the  only 
duty  and  only  glory  of  subjects  was  submission ;  and  that,  if  such 
submission  were  not  voluntarily  and  freely  paid,  it  would  not  fail 
to  be  enforced.  His  brother,  the  Marquis  jMontemor,  was  exiled 
for  some  trivial  offense — though  the  exile  was  intended  to  be 
merely  temporary — from  that  place  to  Castel  Branco.  Another 
brother,  the  count  of  Olivenca,  was  deposed  from  the  dignity  of 
chancellor.  These  nobles,  all  staunch  advocates  for  the  privileges 
of  their  order,  and  among  the  proudest  of  men,  were  mortified 
beyond  measure  to  find  that  they  had  a  master.  Two  of  them 
bore  the  humiliation  with  outward  resignation ;  but  the  marquis, 
not  satisfied  with  denouncing  in  violent  terms  what  he  called  the 
insulting  injustice  done  to  the  nobles,  exclaimed  with  vehemence 
against  the  character  alike  of  king  and  government.  His  libels 
were  not  merely  verbal,  but  written :  some  of  the  latter  he  for- 
warded to  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  Castile,  with  whom  he  main- 
tained an  imprudent,  even  a  treasonable,  communication. 

Though  the  duke  of  Braganza  condemned  the  violence  of  his 
brother,  that  his  own  hostility  was  equal,  and  his  conduct  no  less 
treasonable,  appeared  from  the  sequel.  While  examining  a  mass 
of  papers,  copies  were  found  of  several  letters  from  the  duke  to 
tlie  Castilian  king,  with  the  answers,  and  the  correspondence 
seemed  suspicious  enough  to  be  laid  before  Joam.  Hence,  Joam 
resolved  to  arrest  and  bring  tlie  duke  to  trial;  a  resolution  of  which 
he  seems  to  have  been  ignorant,  though  he  knew  his  safety  was 
precarious.  Unwilling,  however,  to  increase  the  suspicion  under 
which  he  lay,  he  would  not  leave  the  court  witliout  permission,  and 


320  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1483 

one  day  entered  the  royal  cabinet  for  the  purpose.  On  his  entrance, 
the  king,  who  was  transacting  business  with  his  ministers,  made 
him  sit  down,  and  conversed  with  him  with  apparent  cordiality. 
When  tlie  ministers  had  retired,  the  duke  endeavored  to  dissipate 
the  suspicions  of  Joam  by  professions  of  loyalty,  and  observed, 
that  with  respect  to  his  dispute  wn'th  his  monarch,  he  wished 
for  nothing  more  than  for  justice  to  be  done  by  the  tribunals  of 
the  country.  But  instead  he  was  immediately  arrested  and  con- 
signed to  a  neighboring  tower.  His  trial  was  immediately  insti- 
tuted, and  pushed  by  the  king  with  indecent  haste.  The  charges 
were  easily  proved ;  he  w^as  sentenced  to  death,  and  his  effects  to 
be  confiscated.  He  received  the  sentence  with  unshaken  firmness, 
applied  his  few  remaining  hours  to  the  exercises  of  devotion,  and, 
in  a  last  letter  to  the  king  recommended  to  the  royal  mercy  his 
innocent  wife  and  children.  The  following  day  (July  2^,  1483) 
a  scaffold  was  erected  in  the  great  square  of  Evora,  and  at  the 
hour  appointed  he  suffered  his  punishment  without  a  sigh  or  a 
groan.  The  three  sons  of  the  duke  immediately  fled  into  Castile, 
and  their  example  was  followed  by  the  marquis  of  Montemor, 
whose  estates  were  confiscated,  and  by  his  brother  the  count :  a 
third  brother,  the  deposed  chancellor,  who  had  been  charged  with 
no  crime,  at  first  proposed  to  remain,  but  a  royal  mandate  com- 
pelled him  to  leave  the  kingdom. 

This  tragedy  was  soon  to  be  followed  by  another.  The  fall 
of  the  house  of  Braganza,  and  the  consequent  failure  of  their 
schemes  to  retain  possession  of  their  tyrannical  privileges,  so 
incensed  the  nobles  that  a  conspiracy  was  formed  by  some  of  them 
to  assassinate  both  the  king  and  his  son  Don  Alfonso,  and  to  place 
the  duke  of  Viseo  on  the  vacant  throne.  This  prince,  named 
Diego,  was  son  of  the  infante  Ferdinand,  brother  of  Alfonso 
v.,  and  consequently  cousin  to  the  king;  and  his  connection  with 
the  throne  had  been  strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  his  sister 
Leonora  with  his  sovereign.  He  readily  entered  into  the  views  of 
the  conspirators;  he  was  ambitious  of  reigning;  he  regretted  the 
deceased  duke ;  he  was  generous,  and  therefore  popular  with  the 
nation ;  and  he  was  the  friend  of  Ferdinand  of  Castile ; — advan- 
tages which  he  regarded  as  sufficient  to  aid  him  in  bringing  about 
the  meditated  revolution.  The  details  of  the  conspiracy  were 
finally  arranged  at  Santarem. 

But  though  Joam  was  in  possession  of  this  momentous  infor- 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  321 

1483 

mation,  his  sense  of  justice  would  not  permit  him  to  act  on  sus- 
picion or  on  tales  brought  to  him,  and  he  merely  charged  his  body- 
guards not  to  lose  sight  of  his  person.  It  was  soon  confirmed  by 
one  of  the  actual  conspirators,  Dom  Vasco  Coutinho,  who  had  been 
admitted  into  the  number  by  his  own  brother.  This  man,  who 
had  feigned  great  zeal  for  the  success  of  the  plot,  had  been  intro- 
duced to  the  Duke  de  Viseo,  and  by  that  prince  had  been  acquainted 
with  every  detail.  The  information  which  he  hastened  to  lay 
before  the  king  caused  the  latter  to  redouble  his  precautions  of 
defense.  The  brother  of  Dom  Vasco  and  Dom  Pedro  de  Ataide, 
who  were  charged  with  the  assassination,  now  closely  watched 
the  movements  of  their  intended  victim.  One  day  as  Joam,  almost 
unaccompanied,  was  ascending  the  great  staircase  of  his  palace,  he 
met  the  assassins,  and  from  the  motions  instantly  made  by  Pedro 
he  divined  that  now  was  the  crisis  of  his  fate.  With  a  presence 
of  mind  and  a  commanding  manner  almost  peculiar  to  himself,  he 
demanded  what  was  the  matter.  "  Nothing,"  replied  Pedro,  "  but 
that  I  was  near  falling." — "Beware  of  falling!"  rejoined  the 
other,  with  his  usual  coolness,  and  walked  on  before  the  oppor- 
tunity could  be  regained.  A  few  days  aftenvards,  however,  being 
so  imprudent  as  to  venture  with  a  few  attendants  to  a  church  out- 
side the  walls  of  the  city,  he  perceived  that  he  was  enveloped  by 
most  of  the  conspirators.  Again  was  he  saved  by  his  presence  of 
mind.  These  repeated  disappointments  terrified  the  head  of  the 
conspiracy,  who  by  letter  reproached  the  actors  with  their  cowardly 
delay,  Joam  was  informed  of  this  and  now  perceived  that  he 
could  temporize  no  longer.  Under  the  pretext  of  communicating 
some  confidential  affairs,  he  sent  for  the  duke  to  court,  and  the  latter 
with  some  reluctance  obeyed  the  summons.  Being  ushered  into 
the  room  of  audience,  near  which  three  men  were  concealed  as 
witnesses,  and,  if  necessary,  as  actors,  in  the  impending  tragedy, 
Dom  Diego  appeared  with  a  cheerful  and  loyal  countenance,  and 
Joam  with  one  of  equal  benignity.  After  a  few  moments'  con- 
versation, the  latter  asked,  in  a  manner  of  studied  carelessness, 
"  Cousin,  suppose  you  knew  a  man  who  had  sworn  to  take  away 
your  life,  what  would  you  do?" — "T  would  hasten  to  take  his!" 
— "Die,  then!"  rejoined  the  king;  "thou  hast  pronounced  thine 
own  doom !  "  and  a  dagger,  wielded  by  the  royal  hand,  entered 
the  traitor's  heart.  Tims  ended  t1iis  formidable  conspiracy.  The 
king  was   generally   condemned    for   so   savagely   perfonning  the 


822  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1482-1486 

functions  of  executioner;  but  many,  in  a  true  Turkish  spirit, 
defended  liim,  on  the  ground  that  as  punishment  was  justly  done, 
the  manner — whether  by  the  royal  hand  or  by  the  lieadsman — was 
immaterial.  Dom  Manuel,  brother  of  the  duke,  was  subsequently 
brought  to  court,  created  constable  of  the  kingdom,  duke  of  Beja, 
and  invested  with  many  of  the  fiefs  possessed  by  that  nobleman. 
After  Alfonso,  son  of  Joam,  he  was  the  next  heir  to  the  throne. 

In  the  reign  of  this  prince  the  Portuguese  spirit  of  maritime 
enterprise  was  carried  to  a  high  pitch ;  a  spirit  which,  except  in 
one  instance,'  he  was  always  anxious  to  foster.  His  first  care 
was  to  found  a  fort  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  which  had  been  dis- 
covered during  the  preceding  reign,  for  the  purpose  of  maintain- 
ing a  permanent  commercial  intercourse  with  the  natives.  The 
barbarian  king,  who  had  entered  into  an  alliance  with  the 
strangers,  consented  to  the  erection  of  the  fortress.  From  this 
moment  Portugal,  or  rather  her  monarchs,  derived  a  great  revenue 
in  ivory  and  gold  from  this  unknown  coast;  so  great,  indeed,  that 
he  feared  lest  the  vessels  of  other  European  nations  should  be 
attracted  to  it.  This  was  what  happened,  for  soon  after  Joam 
heard  that  vessels  were  constructing  in  the  English  ports,  unknown 
to  their  king,  Edward  IV.,  and  at  the  cost  of  the  Due  de  Medina- 
Sidonia,  for  an  expedition  to  Ethiopia, — so  the  Portuguese  termed 
all  central  Africa  from  the  Nile  to  the  western  coast.  He  there- 
fore sent  an  embassy  to  the  English  monarch,  whom  he  reminded 
of  the  ancient  alliance  between  the  two  crowns,  and  whom  he 
easily  induced  to  prohibit  the  preparations.  In  a  short  time  the 
fortress  of  St.  George  of  the  Mine  became  a  considerable  city,  and 
afterwards  infamous  from  the  traffic  in  slaves. 

But  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  Portuguese  enterprise. 
The  king  had  been  taught  to  suspect  that  by  coasting  the  African 
continent  a  passage  to  the  East  Indies  might  be  discovered ;  and 
he  not  only  equipped  two  small  squadrons  expressly  for  this  object, 
but  dispatched  two  of  his  subjects  into  India  and  Abyssinia,  to 
discover  the  route  to  and  between  these  vast  regions,  and  what 
advantages  Portuguese  commerce  might  derive  from  the  knowl- 
edge thus  acquired.  The  two  travelers,  Pedro  da  Covilhan  and 
Alfonso  de  Payva,  passed  first  to  Naples,  and  thence  to  Rhodes,  by 
the  knights  of  which  they  were  well  received,  and  enabled  to  reach 

"  That   of   Christopher   Cohimbus,   whose   proposals   he   himself   was   ready 
enough  to  receive,  but  was  overruled  by  his  council. 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  323 

1486-1487 

Alexandria.  There  they  separated, — Covilhan  for  India,  and, 
Payva  for  Abyssinia;  but  agreeing  to  rejoin  each  other,  in  a 
given  period,  in  Cairo.  Tlie  former  embarked  on  the  Red  Sea, 
visited  the  most  famous  cities  of  India,  as  far  as  the  Ganges; 
coasted,  on  his  return,  the  shores  of  Persia,  Arabia,  and  Africa  as 
far  as  Mozambique,  where  he  learned  that  the  continent  terminated 
in  a  great  cape  much  farther  to  the  south.  He  now  returned  to 
Cairo,  where  he  heard  of  his  companion's  death.  He  then  visited 
Abyssinia,  where  he  ultimately  settled ;  but  he  wrote  to  the  king,  to 
whom  he  communicated  the  observations  he  had  made,  and  a 
chart  of  the  maritime  places  he  had  visited. 

The  discoveries  of  this  enterprising  man  encouraged  Joam  to 
attempt  the  passage  to  India.  One  of  the  squadrons — that  under- 
Joam  Alfonso  de  Aveiro — discovered  the  kingdom  of  Benin. 
Aveiro  was  to  open  a  commercial  treaty  with  the  savage  chief 
of  this  country,  when  death  surprised  him  before  he  could  accom- 
plish the  end  of  his  expedition.  The  other,  under  Jayme  Cam, 
was  more  fortunate.  Crossing  the  equinox,  he  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  a  large  river,  the  Sahira,  on  the  coast  of  the  Congo. 
Persuaded  that  the  course  of  that  river  was  navigable,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  explore  its  banks.  The  Congo  was  not  the  only  kingdom 
which  presented  an  opening  for  national  exploration.  While  these 
events  were  taking  i)lace,  Bemohi,  the  ]\Iohammedan  king  of  the 
Jalofs,  a  people  inhabiting  the  coast  opposite  the  Cape  de  Verd 
Islands,  being  dethroned  by  a  prince  of  his  family,  escaped  to 
Portugal,  to  implore  the  succor  of  Joam.  He  was  baptized,  send- 
ing submission  to  the  pope,  both  for  himself  and  his  kingdom, 
and,  besides  consenting  to  hold  his  crown  as  a  vassal  of  Joam. 
he  proposed  to  open  to  the  nation  of  his  benefactor  the  way  to 
Abyssinia  and  Egypt,  and  a  commerce  as  extensive  as  it  would 
be  lucrative.  Twenty  ships  laden  with  soldiers,  priests,  and  archi- 
tects, under  Pedro  Vas  da  Cunha,  sailed  from  the  ports  of  Lusi- 
tania,  and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Senegal.  Here  the  unfor- 
tunate African  was  murdererl  by  the  hands  of  da  Cunha.  The 
motive  of  this  dark  deed  is  wrapped  in  mystery. 

Though  no  paramount  advantage  was  derived  from  the  alli- 
ance with  the  Congo,  the  discoveries  of  Cam  led  to  a  solid  one — 
that  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hc^pe.  This  memorable  discovery  was 
made  in  T487  1)y  P>art!iolomco  Diaz,  an  officer  of  equal  enterprise 
and  experience.     The  high  winds    and  still  higher  seas    which  as- 


324  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1487-1495 

sailed  this  vast  promontory  induced  the  captain  to  call  it  the  Cape  of 
Storms;  but  Joam,  who  had  more  extended  views,  called  it  O 
Cabo  de  Boa  Esperanga,  or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On  this 
occasion  Diaz  ventured  little  beyond  the  promontory;  nor  was  it 
passed  by  any  vessel  until  the  following  reign,  when  the  famous 
Vasco  de  Gama  doubled  it  on  his  voyage  to  India. 

Like  his  predecessors,  Joam  was  in  frequent  hostilities  with 
the  Moors  of  Fez.  His  first  expedition  was  undertaken  on  the 
pretext  of  succoring  his  royal  ally  against  two  rebellious  gov- 
ernors; but,  in  reality,  he  was  incapable  of  generosity  so  pure. 
He  triumphed  over  the  two  rebels,  one  of  whom  he  took  prisoner, 
but  soon  permitted  him  to  be  ransomed.  The  following  year 
(1488)  Antonio  de  Noronha,  governor  of  Ceuta,  with  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Portuguese  nobles,  was  overpowered  by  a 
multitude  of  the  Africans;  but  this  shock  was  soon  repaired  by 
Francisco  Coutinho  de  Borba,  who  had  been  intrusted  with  the 
government  of  Arsilla.  Though  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was 
made  to  erect  a  fortress  on  Graciosa,  a  small  island  off  the  Mauri- 
tanian  coast,  Fernando  de  Menezes,  governor  of  Ceuta,  took 
Targa,  and  consumed  by  fire  twenty  of  the  Moorish  vessels  that 
lay  in  the  port. 

In  1490  Joam  married  his  only  legitimate  son,  Alfonso,  to 
Isabella  of  Castile ;  but  the  rejoicings  consequent  on  this  event 
were  almost  the  last  he  was  permitted  to  seek.  Before  their  con- 
clusion the  count  passed  from  Evora  to  Viana,  where  one  day 
he  and  two  domestics  were  suddenly  taken  ill.  The  cause  is 
wrapped  in  some  mystery;  but  the  general  suspicion  was  that  a 
fountain  from  which  he  and  they  had  drunk  was  poisoned :  their 
death,  and  his  own  tardy  recovery,  seem  to  confirm  it.  Scarcely 
were  a  few  months  elapsed,  when  the  prince's  tragical  death  by 
a  fall  from  his  horse  deprived  Joam  of  his  intended  successor. 
The  first  shock  of  the  catastrophe  prostrated  the  vigorous  mind 
of  the  king;  for  some  time  he  refused  to  be  comforted.  To  the 
condolence  of  his  people,  who  gently  reproved  his  grief,  and  who 
told  him  that  for  them  he  must  live,  since  in  each  of  them  he  had 
still  a  son,  he  replied,  "  The  happiness  of  my  subjects  is,  indeed, 
my  only  remaining  consolation.  I  will  labor  for  their  good:  but 
let  them  pardon  me ;  nature  is  weak,  and  T  am  but  a  man."  The 
In.st  three  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in  bodily  infirmitv.  but  not 
so  severe  as  to  exclude  him  from  public  affairs    until  a  short  time 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  325 

1495-1497 

before  his  death.  His  last  moments  were  devoutly  employed.  At 
length,  with  difficulty  uttering-  the  prayer,  "  Doniine,  qui  tollis 
pcccata  mundi,  miserere  niihi!"  he  breathed  his  last. 

Joam  was  a  great  prince;  comprehensive  in  his  views,  vig- 
orous in  the  execution  of  his  designs,  as  he  was  cautious  and 
politic  in  their  formation ;  zealous  for  justice,  and  for  the  happiness 
of  his  people.  That  zeal,  however,  sometimes  degenerated  into 
vengeance,  and  was  sometimes  disarmed  by  capricious  clemency. 
In  short,  the  success  of  his  administration  was  unrivaled ;  he 
introduced  industry  and  comfort  among  his  people,  added  largely 
to  the  national  resources,  and  was  in  many  respects  the  greatest 
monarch  that  ever  swayed  the  scepter  of  Portugal. 

Manuel,  who  succeeded  Joam,  having  recalled  the  exiled 
princes  of  Braganza,  and  received  the  hand  of  Isabella  of  Castile, 
resolved  to  pursue  the  maritime  enterprises  of  his  great  prede- 
cessor. A  squadron  of  five  vessels  had  been  already  prepared  for 
the  great  passage  to  India;  it  was  entrusted  to  the  celebrated 
Vasco  de  Gama,  who  having  received  the  standard  of  the  cross 
from  the  hands  of  the  new  king,  embarked  amidst  the  acclamations 
and  tears  of  the  spectators,  according  as  fear  for  the  fate  of  kin- 
dred and  friends,  or  hope  for  the  country's  greatness,  predom- 
inated in  their  breasts.*^  His  passage  from  the  Cape  de  Verds 
to  St.  Helena  occupied  near  three  months ;  and  before  he  could 
reach  the  Stormy  Cape  his  crew  were  so  disheartened  by  the  con- 
tinued winds  and  the  high  seas  that  they  besought  him  to  return. 
In  vain  did  he  exhort  them  to  dismiss  their  cowardly  fears,  assur- 
ing them  that  they  would  soon  arrive  in  more  tranquil  seas  and 
off  an  abundant  coast.  Perceiving  that  he  was  bent  on  his  pur- 
pose, they  conspired  against  his  life.  This  conspiracy  was  fortu- 
nately discovered  by  his  brother,  Paulo  de  Gama ;  the  mutineers 
were  ironed  and  confined,  and  the  admiral  himself  took  the  helm. 
Plis  courage  was  crowned  with  success.  On  the  20th  day  of 
November,  1497,  "^^^^^  fi^'*^  months  after  his  departure  from  Lisbon, 
he  doubled  the  Cape.  Continuing  to  coast  along  the  African 
shores,  he  passed  Sofala,  and  soon  cast  anchor  off  the  coast  of 
Zanzibar.  The  inhabitants  of  Mozambique  he  found  to  be  ]\Io- 
hammedans,  who  abhorred  the  Christian  name.  The  pilots,  whom 
he  with  difficulty  obtained  to  conduct  him  through  these  unknown 

^  Tlie   adventure'^   of  tlii-^   oxfranrdinary   man   arc   detailed   with   jreneral   ac- 
curacy, though  adorned  with  poetic  rliapsodie^,  l)y  the  iiuniorta'  Camoens. 


3526  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1497-1501 

seas,  endeavored  to  betray  him  into  the  hands  of  the  Mohammedan 
king;  but  accident  thwarted  their  views,  and  in  revenge  he  can- 
nonaded the  port  of  Mombaza.  At  MeHnda  he  met  with  better 
hoepitah'ty:  not  only  did  the  Mussulman  express  a  sincere  desire 
to  be  considered  the  ally  of  Portugal,  but  he  furnished  a  skillful 
pilot  to  conduct  the  stranger  to  the  great  Indian  peninsula.  Hav- 
ing a  second  time  crossed  the  equinoctial  line,  he  proceeded  along 
the  Arabian  and  Persian  shores  to  Calicut,  a  rich  and  populous 
port  on  the  coast  of  Malabar.  Both  he  and  his  crew  were  not  a 
little  surprised  to  find  merchants  of  Tunis  and  other  ports  of 
Barbary  in  this  distant  region — many  who  trafficked  in  every 
great  port  of  India,  of  Africa,  and  of  the  Mediterranean.  Having 
coasted  the  Indian  peninsula,  and  finding  that  his  armament  was 
too  inconsiderable  to  command  respect,  he  returned  to  Melinda, 
received  on  board  ambassadors  from  the  king  to  his  sovereign, 
doubled  the  Cape,  April  26,  1499,  and  reached  Lisbon  in  Sep- 
tember, after  an  absence  of  little  more  than  two  years. 

The  reports  of  this  renowned  seaman  inflamed  Dom  Manuel 
with  the  prospect  of  deriving  considerable  pennanent  advantage 
from  the  rich  kingdoms  of  the  East.  A  fleet  of  thirteen  vessels 
was  now  prepared  and  confided  to  the  direction  of  Dom  Pedro 
Alvares  Cabral.  '  Being  forced  by  a  tempest,  while  passing  the 
Cape  de  Verd  islands,  to  direct  his  course  somewhat  more  to  the 
west  than  had  been  done  by  his  predecessor,  to  his  astonishment 
the  new  admiral  discovered  land.  Having  taken  possession  of  the 
coast,  and  given  it  the  name  of  Santa  Cruz, — a  name,  however, 
which  was  soon  afterwards  changed  into  that  of  Brazil, — and 
dispatched  a  vessel  to  acquaint  his  monarch  with  the  news,  he 
continued  his  voyage :  but  in  a  second  tempest  he  lost  several  of 
his  ships.  On  anchoring  before  Calicut  he  was  not  unfavorably 
received,  but  the  good  understanding  was  of  short  continuance : 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Moors  the  Christians  were  persecuted,  and 
fifty  massacred.  In  revenge  Cabral  consumed  by  fire  the  Indian 
and  Arabian  vessels  in  the  port,  of  which  he  secured  tlie  cargoes, 
and  committed  horrible  carnage  among  the  enemy.  He  next  pro- 
ceeded to  Cochin,  from  the  governor  of  which,  Trimumpara,  he 
experienced  more  hospitality.  He  entered  not  merely  into  a  com- 
mercial treaty,  but  into  a  close  alliance  with  the  royal  Hindoo,  who 
submitted  to  become  the  vassal  of  Dom  Alanuel,  and  who  permitted 
some  Portuguese  to  form  a  settlement  on  the  coast.     Having  thus 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  327 

1502-1504 

laid  the  foundation  of  a  commercial  intercourse,  and  established 
factories,  the  admiral  loaded  some  vessels  with  the  choicest  pro- 
ductions of  tlie  East,  and  returned  without  accident  to  Europe. 
Before  his  arrival,  a  smaller  squadron  had  left  Lisbon  for  the 
same  destination:  its  chief  success  was  defeating  a  fleet  belonging 
to  the  Moors  and  the  brutal  king  of  Calicut. 

The  prospect  of  advantage,  through  the  factories  which  had 
been  established  on  the  Indian  and  African  coasts,  encouraged 
Manuel  to  equip  a  more  formidable  expedition.  With  ten  vessels, 
Vasco  de  Gama,  who  had  been  created  admiral  of  the  Indies,  again 
undertook  a  voyage  which  was  no  longer  considered  dreadful. 
He  was  accompanied  by  his  uncle,  Vicente  Sodre,  who,  with  five 
vessels  more,  was  ordered  to  protect  the  new  factories  while  the 
admiral  caused  the  Portuguese  name  to  be  respected  by  the 
zamorin  and  other  enemies.  His  cousin,  Estevan  de  Gama,  had 
orders  to  follow  him  with  four  additional  vessels,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  six  more  were  dispatched  into  the  same  seas,  three  under 
Alfonso,  and  three  under  Francisco  de  Albuquerque.  Having 
doubled  the  Cape,  the  first  care  of  Vasco  was  to  confirm  the  yet 
insecure  influence  of  his  country  on  the  African  coast,  especially 
in  Sofala  and  iMozambique.  Off  the  coast  of  Malabar,  Vasco  had 
the  good  fortune  to  fall  in  with  his  relative,  Estevan.  His  force 
now  amounting  to  nineteen  ships  (one  had  been  lost  on  the  pas- 
sage), he  prepared  to  vindicate  the  authority  of  his  master.  His 
next  feat  was  to  take  a  large  vessel,  laden  with  treasure,  belong- 
ing to  the  soldan  of  Egypt;  the  second,  to  punish  the  zamorin. 
At  first,  with  characteristic  perfidy,  the  royal  Hindoo  tried  to 
inveigle  the  strangers  into  a  net,  spread  to  destroy  them.  The 
admiral  detected  the  perfidy,  and  commenced  a  cruel  retaliation. 
Leaving  his  uncle,  Sodre,  to  continue  the  work  of  destruction,  he 
proceeded  to  Cochin,  and  had  the  gratification  to  find  the  Portu- 
guese factory  there  in  a  flourishing  state.  At  Cranganor,  about 
four  leagues  distant  from  Cochin,  he  was  surprised  to  discover  a 
society  of  XcstcM'ian  Christians,  who,  according  to  ancient  tra- 
dition, were  the  descendants  of  the  converts  effected  by  the  preach- 
ing of  St.  Thomas.  These,  to  the  number  of  30,000,  were  eager 
to  acknowledge  the  Portuguese  king  as  their  liege  lord.  While  at 
Cochin  he  rc';ei\'e(l  an  cml);issy  f ri  im  llie  zamorin,  who  entreated 
him  to  return  to  Calicut,  that  a  pennanent  pacification  might  be 
effected  between  the  two  people.     Tliat  he  should  be  so  credulous 


328  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1504-1509 

as  to  rely  on  the  protestation  of  such  a  man  is  surprising;  but  he 
immediately  returned,  was  treated  as  before  with  much  outward 
respect,  and  before  he  was  aware  of  hostilities  being  intended,  he 
was  surrounded  by  above  a  hundred  Moorish  and  Hindoo  vessels. 
Had  not  Sodre,  whom  he  had  ordered  to  cruise  off  the  coast,  unex- 
pectedly appeared  in  sight  his  destruction  would  have  been  inevi- 
table; but  v»-ith  his  kinsman's  aid  he  soon  triumphed  over  the 
enemy.  The  zamorin  now  endeavored,  by  letter,  to  prevail  on  the 
king  of  Cochin  to  assassinate  the  Portuguese  residents;  but  the 
latter  disdained  to  imitate  the  treachery  which  had  been  shown  to 
the  admiral.  As  Vasco  was  on  the  point  of  returning  to  Europe, 
he  left  a  few  Portuguese  for  the  defense  of  his  ally,  and  ordered 
Sadre  to  protect  him  against  the  probable  vengeance  of  the 
zamorin.  The  governor  of  Cananor  was  no  less  faithful  to  his 
engagements,  and  no  less  ready  to  defend  them  against  the  zamo- 
rin. Scarcely  had  Vasco  left  the  coast  for  Africa,  and  Sadre  to 
cruise  in  the  Arabian  Gulf,  than  the  implacable  Hindoo  made  prep- 
aration for  war  on  Trimumpara.  On  four  different  occasions 
did  the  haughty  Hindoo  assail,  by  sea  and  land,  the  entrenchments 
of  the  Portuguese :  in  all  four,  if  there  be  any  faith  in  their  histo- 
rians, was  he  signally  and  ignominiously  defeated. 

The  next  considerable  armament  which  the  Portuguese  king 
fitted  out  for  these  distant  regions  was  confided  to  Dom  Lope 
Soares:  it  consisted  of  thirteen  vessels,  carrying  1200  men.  x^s 
the  soldan  of  Egypt  breathed  vengeance  against  the  nation  which 
had  taken  one  of  his  most  valuable  ships,  and  which  had  anni- 
hilated his  lucrative  traffic  in  the  Indian  seas,  two  vessels  were 
dispatched,  under  Francisco  de  Almeida,  who  was  nominated 
viceroy  of  the  Indies.  On  his  side,  the  soldan  constructed  a  fleet, 
tlie  materials  for  which  were  furnished  by  the  Venetians.  When 
Almeida  touched  at  Quiloa,  the  king,  Ibrahim,  who  had  rendered 
himself  obnoxious  to  the  Portuguese,  fled  with  precipitation  from 
the  city.  Having  received,  as  the  representative  of  Dom  Manuel, 
the  homage  of  the  new  king,  erected  a  fortress  to  overawe  the  inhab- 
itants, and  destroyed  the  town  of  Mombaza,  which  refused  to 
submit,  Almeida  hastened  to  Cananor.  There  he  received  an  em- 
bassy from  tlie  king  of  Bisnagar,  who,  in  admiration  at  the  renown 
of  the  Euro])eans,  solicited  their  alliance.  There,  too,  he  built  a 
fortress  for  the  protection  of  the  factorv;  and  tliere  he  loaded  eight 
vessels  with  the  richest  productions  of  the  Indies,  which  he  dis- 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  329 

1509-1515 

patched  to  Portugal,  and  which,  in  their  voyage  discovered  the 
great  island  of  Madagascar.  Thus,  along  the  whole  of  the  vast 
African  continent,  from  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  to  Abyssinia,  and 
along  the  Asiatic,  from  Ormuz  to  Siam,  the  Portuguese  flag  waved 
triumphant. 

Albuquerque,  the  new  viceroy,  commenced  his  rule  by  the  inva- 
sion of  Goa,  one  of  the  richest  cities  of  Hindoostan,  The  inhabi- 
tants, unable  to  oppose  a  vigorous  resistance,  consented  to  receive  a 
Portuguese  garrison.  This  important  city  the  viceroy  resolved  to 
make  the  capital  of  all  Portuguese  India.  He  now  turned  his  eyes 
towards  Malacca,  from  which  he  knew  his  countrymen  had  been 
recently  expelled  through  the  intrigues  of  the  Moorish  merchants. 
To  revenge  the  indignity  he  repaired  to  that  country,  eluded  the 
designs  of  the  barbarian  king,  whom  he  subsequently  defeated  and 
dethroned,  and  whose  capital  he  retained,  notwithstanding  the 
efforts  of  the  inhabitants  to  shake  off  the  yoke,  or  of  their  allies  in 
their  behalf.  This  conquest,  and  the  triumphs  by  which  it  was 
followed  inspired  many  of  the  neighboring  sovereigns  with  fear. 
The  viceroy  having  again  visited  the  coast  of  Malabar,  and  increased 
alike  the  strength  and  number  of  his  fortresses,  sailed  for  Aden,  in 
Arabia.  On  that  almost  impregnable  place,  however,  his  artillery 
had  little  effect,  and  he  was  twice  compelled  to  raise  the  siege.  In 
two  years,  however,  he  returned  into  those  seas,  less,  perhaps,  to 
reduce  Aden  than  to  conquer  the  island  of  Ormuz,  now  that  its 
defenders.  King  Shiefedin  and  his  minister,  Atar,  were  dead.  It 
was  the  object  of  Albuquerque  to  destroy  the  homage  paid  to  the 
native  kings,  thereb}*  securing  the  undivided  superiority  of  his  mas- 
ter; and  he  was  anxious  to  construct  a  fortress  for  the  purpose  of 
overaweing  a  people  generally  prone  to  novelty.  After  investing 
the  capital  and  establishing  a  blockade  around  the  island,  the  vice- 
roy demanded  permission  for  the  meditated  construction — a  per- 
mission which  the  terrified  king  hastened  to  grant.  The  citadel 
was  soon  finished,  and  thither  was  transported  all  the  artillery 
belonging  to  the  city;  and  the  victor  sent  to  Goa  tliirty  princes  of 
the  royal  house,  who  had  been  blinded  on  the  accession  of  the 
present  king.  But  for  all  his  splendid  services  he  was  rewarded 
with  envy  and  ingratitude.  Ills  abilities,  his  bravery,  his  success- 
ful administration,  made  the  courtiers  fear  or  pretend  that  he  aimed 
at  an  independent  SDVcrcignty  in  those  regions,  and  by  their  repre- 
sentations they  prevailed  (.'U  the  king  to  recall  him.     Don  Lope 


330  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1515-1517 

Scares  was  dispatched  from  Lisbon  to  supersede  him.  But  before 
his  successor  arrived  he  felt  that  his  health  was  worn  out  in  the 
service  of  his  country;  he  made  his  last  will,  and  returned  from 
Ormuz  to  Goa  to  breathe  his  last  sigh.  As  he  proceeded  along  the 
coast  he  was  informed  of  his  supersession — in  other  \vords,  of  his 
disgrace — and  the  intelligence  sank  deep  into  his  mind.  This  illness 
so  much  augmented,  that  finding  his  end  approach,  he  wrote  a  few 
hasty  lines  to  his  sovereign,  to  whom,  as  the  sole  reward  of  any 
services  he  might  have  performed  the  state,  he  recommended  the 
interests  of  a  natural  son.  He  died  at  sea,  within  sight  of  Goa. 
How^ever  violent  some  of  his  acts,  he  certainly  administered  justice 
with  impartiality.  If  to  this  we  add  that  the  qualities  of  his  mind 
were  of  a  high  order,  that  he  was  liberal,  affable,  and  modest,  we 
shall  scarcely  be  surprised  that,  by  his  enthusiastic  countrymen,  he 
was  styled  tJic  Great.  It  is  probable  that  no  other  man  would  have 
established  the  domination  of  Portugal  on  so  secure  a  basis  :  it  is  cer- 
tain that  no  other,  in  so  short  a  period,  could  have  invested  the  struc- 
ture with  so  much  splendor.  His  remains  were  magnificently 
interred  at  Goa,  and  his  son  was  laden  with  honors  by  the  now 
repentant  Manuel — the  only  rew'ards  of  his  great  deeds. 

Under  the  successors  of  Albuquerque  the  administration  of 
India  was  notorious  for  its  corruption,  imbecility  and  violence,  and 
in  the  same  degree  as  wasdom  and  justice  were  discarded,  so  did 
the  military  spirit  decay.  The  local  governors  esteemed  their  offices 
only  so  far  as  ruined  fortunes  might  be  repaired  or  new  ones 
amassed,  and  their  only  aim  was  to  extort  from  the  people  the 
greatest  possible  sum  in  the  shortest  given  time.  One  of  the  most 
important  instructions  received  by  Lope  Soares  was  to  annihilate 
the  armada  which  the  soldan  of  Egypt  had  prepared  on  the  Red  Sea. 
With  a  formidable  armament  he  left  Goa,  and  on  reaching  Aden 
found  the  inhabitants  willing  to  submit  with  the  condition  of  his 
defending  them  against  Soliman,  the  Egyptian  admiral.  Though 
this  was  the  most  valuable  station  which  the  Europeans  could  have 
obtained  in  the  Indian  seas,  the  viceroy  Lope  declined  the  offer,  on 
the  pretext  that  he  had  no  instructions  in  relation  to  it.  Proceeding 
through  the  Straits  of  Babelmandeb,  he  was  assailed  by  tw'o  dreadful 
tempests,  which  forced  him  to  retire  with  loss — a  loss  increased  by 
sickness  and  want  of  provisions.  In  this  emergency  he  resolved  to 
accept  the  proposal  of  the  governor  of  Aden,  whither  he  repaired; 
but  he  found  the  position  of  affairs  greatly  cb.anged,  and  was  glad 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  331 

1517-1518 

to  take  refuge  in  Ormuz.  From  this  place  he  dispatched  a  vessel  to 
Portugal  to  acquaint  his  sovereign  with  the  complete  failure  of  all 
his  designs.  During  his  absence  Goa  was  nearly  lost  through  the 
misconduct  of  its  governor,  who,  listening  to  guilty  passions  instead 
of  a  just  policy,  had  drawn  a  formidable  army  around  it.  The  siege, 
however,  was  at  length  raised,  partly  through^the  valor  of  two  Por- 
tuguese captains,  who  reinforced  the  garrison,  and  partly  through 
the  concessions  made  by  the  governor  to  the  incensed  enemy.  In 
China  a  settlement  was  permitted  to  be  made  on  the  coast  below 
Canton,  but  the  violence  of  the  Portuguese  soon  brought  down  the 
wrath  of  the  celestial  emperor,  and  occasioned  their  temporary 
expulsion.  Factories  were  also  established  on  the  coast  of  Bengal, 
and  in  the  Molucca  Islands;  but  from  the  former  the  obnoxious 
strangers  were  in  like  manner  expelled ;  and  in  the  latter  their  foot- 
ing was  insecure.  In  1518  the  weak  and  vicious  administration  of 
Scares  was  replaced  by  that  of  Siqueira,  which  was  not,  however, 
to  prove  more  fortunate.  In  the  last  year  of  Dom  ^Manuel's  reign, 
this  governor  was  replaced  by  Dom  Duarte  de  Menezes. 

The  celebrated  line  of  demarcation  between  the  right  of  dis- 
covery and  conquest  was  not  so  clearly  understood  as  to  avoid  dis- 
putes between  Dom  Manuel  and  his  brother  sovereign  of  Castile. 
His  splendid  empire  in  the  east  had  long  attracted  the  jealousy  of 
Ferdinand,  who  had  frequently  attempted,  but  as  frequently  been 
deterred  by  his  remonstrances,  to  share  in  the  rich  commercial  advan- 
tages thus  offered  to  the  sister  kingdom.  After  the  death  of  that 
prince  a  disaffected  Portuguese  who  had  served  Manuel  with  dis- 
tinction both  in  Ethiopia  and  India,  and  who  was  disgusted  with 
the  refusal  of  liis  sovereign  to  reward  his  services  with  becoming 
liberality,  fled  into  Castile,  and  told  the  new  king,  Charles  V.  of 
Austria,  that  the  ^Molucca  Islands,  in  virtue  of  that  line,  rightfully 
belonged  to  Spain.  This  man  was  Fernando  de  Magallianes  (Fer- 
dinand ^Magellan)  whose  name  is  immortalized  in  the  annals  oi 
maritime  discovery.  He  proposed  a  shorter  route  to  the  Moluccas 
than  the  passage  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — the  route  by  Brazil: 
he  well  knew  that  the  American  continent  must  terminate  some- 
where, and  his  notion  of  the  earth's  rotundity  was  sufficiently  just 
to  convince  him  that  a  western  voyage  would  luring  him  to  tlie  same 
point  as  the  one  discovered  by  I!)iaz  and  Vasco  de  Gania.  This  pro- 
posal was  submitted  to  the  council  of  the  Indies,  which  approved  it, 
though  Charles  himself,  on  the  remonstrances  of  the  Porlugnc^-e 


332  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1519-1520 

ambassador,     affected   to   treat   it   with   indifference.     In  August, 

15 19,  Magellan  embarked  at  Seville  with  five  vessels,  over  the 
crews  of  which  he  was  invested  with  the  power  of  life  and  death. 
Directing  his  course  by  the  Canaries  he  doubled  Cape  de  Verde, 
passed  the  islands  of  that  name,  and  plunged  into  the  vast  Western 
Ocean.  On  reaching  the  Brazilian  coast  he  cautiously  proceeded 
southwards,  in  the  expectation  that  every  league  would  bring  him 
within  sight  of  the  final  promontory.  Nothing  but  the  most  ardent 
^eal,  with  the  most  unbending  resolution,  could  have  made  him  per- 
severe in  opposition  alike  to  the  elements  and  the  wishes  of  his  crew. 
The  tall  stature  of  the  inhabitants  of  Patagonia  struck  him  with 
some  surprise,  and  perhaps  magnified  the  fears  of  his  companions ; 
but  he  eventually  passed  this  Land  of  Giants  and  in  September, 

1520,  arriving  at  a  cape  which  he  called  after  the  Eleven  Thousand 
Virgins,  he  passed  into  the  dreaded  straits  which  bear  his  name. 
The  severity  of  the  weather — w^eather  severer  than  a  northern  lati- 
tude twenty  degrees  higher — killed  many  of  his  crew.  Having 
cleared  the  straits,  he  steered  towards  the  equator,  where  he  knew 
there  was  a  milder  air,  and  where  he  hoped  to  meet  with  provisions. 
As  the  squadrons  proceeded  through  the  boundless  Pacific  and  no 
signs  of  land  appeared,  his  crew  not  merely  murmured,  but  con- 
spired to  destroy  him  and  return  to  Spain.  A  few  of  the  more  des- 
perate ringleaders  he  punished,  but  his  soothing  exhortations,  and 
the  chances  he  held  forth  that  their  fatigues  would  soon  be  over, 
secured  the  obedience  of  the  rest.  Though  the  American  coast 
seemed  too  barren  to  yield  any  hopes  of  provisions,  he  dispatched 
one  of  his  vessels  in  quest  of  them :  instead  of  obeying  the  order, 
the  captain,  in  the  full  conviction  that  Magellan  was  leading  the 
crews  to  inevitable  destruction,  returned  to  Europe.  At  length, 
considering  the  absent  vessel  as  forever  lost,  the  adventurous  navi- 
gator continued  his  course  to  the  west,  and  after  a  passage  of  1,500 
leagues,  unexampled  for  its  boldness,  he  reached  the  Philippine 
Islands.  Here  closed  his  extraordinary  career.  Landing  on  the 
isle  of  Zebu,  he  was  persuaded  by  the  king  to  join  in  a  warlike  expe- 
dition against  another  petty  ruler  in  the  same  cluster,  and  he  fell, 
with  many  of  his  companions,  by  the  hands  of  the  barbarians.  Of 
the  five  vessels  which  had  left  Spain,  two  only  reached  the  ^Moluccas ; 
and  of  these  two,  one  only  returned  to  Seville.  But  if  the  object 
of  the  expedition  failed,  through  the  catastrophe  of  its  leader,  he 
v/ill  be  ccmsidercd  by  posterity  as  by  far  the  most  undaunted    and 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  333 

1501-1513 

in  many  respects  the  most  extraordinary  man  that  ever  traversed 
an  unknown  sea. 

His  anxiety  to  found  an  empire  in  the  East  did  not  prevent  the 
Portuguese  king  from  attending  to  the  affairs  of  northwestern 
Africa.  In  1501  the  king  of  Fez,  at  the  head  of  a  formidable 
army,  assailed  the  governor  of  .Tangier,  who  had  just  returned  from 
a  predatory  excursion  among  the  floors;  but  he  was  so  valiantly 
received  by  that  officer  that  he  turned  aside  to  Arsilla,  but  with  no 
better  success.  The  excursions,  however,  of  his  captain  from  the 
fortress  of  Alcacer-Quibir  to  the  gates  of  Arsilla  were  frequent, 
though,  perhaps,  less  destructive  than  those  of  the  Christians.  In 
1 5 13  the  Portuguese  king  equipped  a  more  powerful  armament  than 
he  had  before  raised,  for  the  African  coast.  It  consisted  of  400 
sail,  carrying  about  23,000  horse  and  foot;  its  destination  was 
Azamor,  and  the  command  confided  to  the  king's  nephew,  the  duke 
of  Braganza.  The  expedition  was  crowned  with  complete  success ; 
the  place  was  stormed  and  taken  with  little  loss,  and  though  the 
Moorish  inhabitants  fled,  yet  as  the  Christians  entered  they  were 
soon  allured  to  their  habitations  by  the  promises  of  the  duke.  Suc- 
•  cess  so  signal  and  so  sudden  surprised  the  Portuguese  themselves, 
who  loudly  declared  that  nothing  now  remained  to  prevent  them 
from  marching  on  the  city  of  Morocco.  But  the  prudent  general 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  their  voices,  on  the  ground  that  he  could  not 
exceed  the  tenor  of  his  instructions ;  his  chief  reason,  doubtless,  was, 
that  he  would  not  risk  the  glory  of  his  recent  enterprise.  Soon 
afterwards  he  embarked  his  troops  and  returned. 

About  this  time  a  family  arose  in  Africa,  destined,  in  the 
process  of  time,  to  act  a  momentous  part  in  the  revolutions  of  these 
regions.  The  chief  of  a  small  village  in  the  province  of  Dara, 
]\Iohammed  ben  Hamed  by  name,  seeing  the  divisions  of  the  ]\Ioors, 
and  their  consequent  inability  to  resist  the  Europeans,  formed  the 
magnificent  design  of  founding  a  new  empire.  As  his  state  was 
obscure,  and  his  possessions  scanty,  his  o1)jcct  would  only  be  effected 
by  exciting  and  concentrating  the  fanaticism  (,»f  the  people,  lie 
boasted  of  his  descent  from  the  prophet,  and  changed  his  name  into 
Xerif.  His  first  step  was  to  send  his  two  sons  on  the  pilgrimage  to 
J\Iecca,  an  infalHblc  road  to  reputation,  and  consequently  to  ixnver. 
The  everlasting  burden  of  tlieir  cnniplaint  was  the  degeneracy  of 
the  faithful,  and  their  constant  encouragement  that  Allah  would 
speedily  raise  up  some  chosen  one  to  emancipate  his  people.     In 


S34i  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1510-1515 

1 510,  by  the  desire  of  their  father,  they  repaired  to  the  court  of  the 
king  of  Fez  and  offered  to  fight  for  the  ancient  law  of  their  prophet. 
The  offer  was  readily  accepted ;  a  squadron  of  horse  was  placed  at 
their  disposal,  and  with  the  title  of  royal  alcaldes  they  commenced 
their  career  as  missionaries  and  heroes.  With  the  consecrated 
standard  of  the  prophet  borne  before  them,  they  proceeded  through 
the  country  to  persuade  or  to  compel  the  Moorish  vassals  of  Dom 
]\Januel  to  throw  off  his  authority  and  fight  for  the  faith  of  Islam. 
It  was  owing  more  to  their  preaching  than  to  the  valor  of  their 
countrymen  that  this  faith  was  not  banished  from  this  angle  of 
Africa.  When  they  began  their  orthodox  labors  the  Portuguese 
were  everywhere  triumphant,  and  there  was  evidently  no  native 
^Mohammedan  prince  capable  of  resisting  their  rapid  progress. 
About  the  same  time,  too,  a  Christian  detachment,  under  Ataide, 
moved  on  Tednest,  where  the  father  of  the  two  saints  had  taken  up 
his  abode.  They  flew  to  his  succor ;  and  all  three,  with  4,000  horse, 
ventured  to  arrest  the  Portuguese  chief,  and  his  ally,  Yahia  ben 
Tafut.  But  their  presumption  was  repaid  by  a  precipitate  flight 
before  the  victorious  enemy,  and  by  the  loss  of  Tednest,  with  abund- 
ant spoil.  The  check  caused  by  this  defeat  brought  the  eldest  Xerif 
to  the  grave.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  two  Xerifs,  the  kings  of 
Fez,  Morocco,  and  Mequinez  prepared  to  combine  their  forces,  and 
to  march  on  Azamor ;  and  to  oppose  this  dreaded  union  the  Chris- 
tians and  Aben  Tafut  effected  a  junction  and  succeeded  in  destroy- 
ing a  considerable  body  of  the  enemy.  The  kings  of  Mequinez  and 
Fez,  however,  with  an  army  too  powerful  to  be  assailed  or  with- 
stood by  the  Christians,  proceeded  towards  the  coast ;  but  Yahia 
retired  into  Saphin,  though  here  his  activity  would  not  allow  him 
to  remain;  he  soon  issued  from  the  gates,  hovered  about  the  flanks 
of  the  king,  annihilated  one  of  the  detachments,  forced  N^assir  to 
retire,  and  persuaded  a  considerable  body  of  the  Moors  to  forsake 
him  and  renew  their  homage  to  Alanuel.  Yahia,  who  for  his  great 
services  received  a  flattering  letter  from  tlie  Portuguese  king,  and 
was  appointed  captain-general  of  three  powerful  Moorish  tribes  sub- 
mitted to  the  Christians,  again  advanced  to  the  walls  of  Morocco, 
and  took  immense  spoils  in  liis  ceaseless  hostile  incursions  into  the 
neighboring  towns.  But  these  triumphs  were  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  construct  a  citadel  at  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Mamora.  An  armament  of  8,000  men,  under 
Dom  iVntunio  de  Noronha,  disembarked,  and  commenced  the  work ; 


PORTUGUESE     KINGDOM  335 

1515-1521 

but  an  immense  host  of  Moors,  under  the  kings  of  Mequinez  and 
Fez,  suddenly  fell  on  them  and  annihilated  one-half  of  the  number. 
This  was  the  heaviest  loss  ever  sustained  by  the  army  of  Dom 
Manuel. 

The  various  warlike  transactions  which  followed  this  failure 
are  too  uniform,  alike  in  character  and  results,  to  merit  detailing. 
At  length  the  illustrious  Yahia  ben  Tafut  was  treacherously  slain 
while  attending  the  funeral  of  a  friend  and  accompanied  by  no  more 
than  three  attendants.  His  troops,  being  assailed  by  the  hostile 
Moors,  were  compelled  to  retreat  on  Saphin.  The  equally  intrepid 
Ataide  had  been  before  killed  by  a  Moor  in  one  of  his  numerous 
inroads  among  the  savage  tribes  bordering  on  Mount  Atlas. 

In  the  meantime  the  Xerifs  were  not  idle:  if  their  designs  were 
impeded  for  a  season,  they  were  not  always  unsuccessful.  They 
sometimes  made  destructive  irruptions  into  the  territory  of  the 
Christians;  and,  if  sometimes  made  to  retreat,  they  had  the  consola- 
tion of  knowing  that  they  had  thinned  the  ranks  of  their  prophet's 
enemies,  and  that  they  were  enriched  by  plunder.  They  had  soon 
the  glory  of  aiding  the  inhabitants  of  Morocco  to  repel  an  assault 
on  that  city  by  the  too  confident  Christians.  But  their  zeal  was 
not  always  equaled  by  their  valor,  nor  their  merit  by  tlieir  rewards. 
Perceiving  how  slow  their  progress  towards  their  great  object,  they 
abandoned  the  capital,  and  resolved  to  fight  for  themselves.  A 
valley  in  the  kingdom  of  Fez,  about  sixty  square  leagues  in  extent, 
yet  with  no  other  population  than  the  village  of  Tarudante,  seemed 
a  fit  situation  for  the  foundation  of  an  empire.  There  they  settled, 
and  the  little  village  soon  became  a  great  city.  They  now  proposed 
to  the  Moorish  king  the  siege  of  Saphin,  and  offered  for  the  enter- 
prise both  their  troops  and  their  personal  service.  The  offer  was 
eagerly  accepted :  they  repaired  to  tlie  capital  with  royal  pomp,  were 
received  with  suitable  magnificence,  and  lodged  in  the  palace.  On 
the  pretext  of  arranging  the  plan  of  the  projected  expedition,  the 
elder  Xerif  requested  a  private  interview  with  the  king,  to  whicli 
three  of  the  royal  domestics  were  admitted.  At  tliat  interview, 
the  Aloorish  king  was  slain  by  the  assassins,  and  the  Xerif  was 
proclaimed  that  very  night  king  of  Alorocco.  llow  fatal  this  revolu- 
tion proved  to  the  Portuguese  empire  in  northern  iVfrica  will  be 
seen  in  due  course. 

Dom  Manuel  did  not  long  sur\ive  this  change  of  dynasty:  he 
died  at  the  close  of  the  year  1521,  after  one  of  the  most  glorious 


336 


SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 


1521 


reigns  on  record.  Of  his  public  administration  enough  has  been 
said;  and  of  his  private  character  what  httle  we  know  is  chiefly  in 
his  favor.  He  administered  justice  with  impartiahty,  but  the  perse- 
cution of  the  unfortunate  Jews  is  a  deep  stain  on  his  memory.  In 
a  popular  insurrection,  however,  headed  by  two  monks,  who  stimu- 
lated the  mob  to  murder  that  unfortunate  race,  he  showed  more  jus- 
tice.    In  every  respect  he  was  a  great  monarch,  and  his  fame  filled 


the  world  as  much  as  his  enlightened  policy  enriched  his  kingdom. 
He  dispatched  ambassadors  to  all  the  potentates  of  his  time, — to  the 
king  of  England,  and  the  ruler  of  Abyssinia ;  to  the  royal  chief  of 
Congo,  and  the  soldan  of  Egypt ;  to  the  sultan  of  Persia,  and  the 
emperor  of  China.  His  assemblies, — that,  for  instance,  in  which  he 
displayed  before  the  astonished  pope  and  cardinals  a  Persian 
panther,  and  an  Indian  elephant,  with  their  native  attendants, — 
were  distinguished  by  a  magnificence  suitable  to  the  lord  of  so  many 
reg-ions. 


PART    V 

THE  SPANISH  MONARCHY 
1516—1788 


Chapter    XIV 

THE    HOUSE    OF   AUSTRIA.     1516-1700 

IF,  from  the  present  period,  the  history  of  Spain  were  to  be 
written  at  length,  it  would,  in  fact,  be  that  of  all  Europe.  But 
as  neither  the  limits  nor  the  design  of  the  present  work  would 
admit  so  wide  a  range,  our  narrative  must  necessarily  be  confined  to 
events  purely  Peninsular;  or  if  others  of  a  more  general  character 
are  occasionally  noticed,  the  reason  will  be  that  they  are  too  closely 
connected  with  the  former  to  be  separated  without  violence. 

During  the  last  illness  of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon,  Adrian,  dean 
of  Louvain,  had  been  sent  into  Spain  by  the  Archduke  Carlos,  the 
eldest  son  of  Philip  and  Juana,  and  consequently  heir  of  the  mon- 
archy, for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  condoling  with  the  sufferer,  but 
in  reality  to  spy  out  the  position  of  parties,  and  to  prevent  the  x\rch- 
duke  Ferdinand,  brother  of  Carlos,  from  inheriting  some  advantages 
— among  them  the  administration  of  the  military  orders — which 
the  dying  king  had  proposed  to  dismember  from  the  crown.  On 
that  monarch's  death,  in  15 16,  Adrian  claimed  the  regency,  but  was 
justly  resisted  by  the  royal  council,  on  the  ground  that  Carlos  was 
yet  far  from  the  age  appointed  for  his  majority  by  his  grandmother's 
will,  and  that  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  exercise  any  authority  in 
the  government. 

But  Cardinal  Ximines  Cisneros.  to  whom  tlie  regency  had  been 
left  by  the  deceased  king,  unwilling  to  make  an  enemy  of  his 
future  sovereign,  consented  that  Adrian  should  have  a  sliare  in  the 
administration.  A  letter  of  congratulation  was  next  addressed  to 
Carlos,  who  was  invited  to  visit  his  new  inheritance.  In  his  reply 
he  confirmed  the  cardinal  in  the  regency.  Soon  afterwards  he  ;is- 
sumed  the  title  of  king,  an  assumption  wliich  gave  considerable 
dissatisfaction.  To  save  tlic  rights  of  the  mother,  however,  tlie 
latter  was  proclaimed  at  the  same  time  and  Iier  name  even  preceded 
her  son's — Dona  Juana  y  don  Carlos,  rrf^na  y  rcy  dc  CasfiJla,  etc. 

Thus  commenced  with   Carlos   I.   the  reign  of  the  house  of 

339 


340  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1516-1517 

Austria,  or  the  Spanish  Hapsburgs, — for  tlie  title  of  king  was  soon 
to  be  changed  for  that  of  emperor,  and  Carlos  I.  of  Spain  became 
Emperor  Charles  V. 

The  short  administration  of  the  cardinal — for  Adrian  was  a 
cipher — was  distinguished  by  great  capacity,  activity,  and  vigor. 
His  first  antagonist  was  the  dethroned  king  of  Navarre,  Jean 
d'Albret,  who,  having  assembled  20,000  followers,  laid  siege  to  St. 
Jean  Pied  de  Port,  while  the  marshal  of  Navarre  crossed  the  Pyre- 
nees. The  duke  of  Najera,  w'ho  had  been  created  viceroy,  easily 
triumphed  over  the  undisciplined  levies,  and  forced  the  unfortunate 
Jean's  retreat.  Neither  Jean  nor  his  wife,  Catherine  de  Foix,  long 
survived  this  disaster.  But  the  cardinal's  most  bitter  enemies  were 
the  nobles  of  Castile,  who,  envious  of  his  dignity,  displeased  with 
his  firmness,  and  hopeful  of  impunity  under  a  young  monarch,  soon 
showed  a  disposition  to  refuse  him  obedience.  Having  assembled 
at  Guadalaxara,  in  the  house  of  the  Duke  del  Infantado,  they  de- 
puted three  of  their  body  to  know  by  what  authority  he  exercised 
his  functions:  he  could  not,  they  contended,  derive  it  from  Ferdi- 
nand, because  that  prince  only  exercised  a  delegated  power;  nor 
from  Carlos,  who  could  have  no  right  to  the  sovereignty  during  the 
life  of  Juana.  To  this  insulting  representation  the  churchman 
listened  with  great  composure,  and  promised  that,  if  the  three 
nobles  would  return  the  following  day,  he  w^ould  exhibit  the  re- 
quired powers.  During  the  night  he  marched  2,000  armed  men 
from  their  cantonments  in  the  vicinity  of  Madrid  and  posted  them 
in  a  tower  of  his  house  w'hich  he  also  flanked  with  artillery.  When 
the  deputies  called,  triumphantly  pointing  to  the  soldiers  and  guns, 
and  to  the  treasures  which  he  had  purposely  displayed  in  one  of  his 
apartments,  he  exclaimed,  "  Behold  the  powers  by  which  I  govern 
the  kingdom !  "  The  tone  of  superiority  with  which  these  words 
were  uttered  was  not  less  galling  than  the  words  themselves,  and 
the  humbled  though  still  indignant  nobles  fled  from  his  presence. 
The  cardinal  was  now  drawing  toward  the  close  of  life.  Though 
he  inhabited  a  palace  his  manners  w^ere  as  simple,  his  austerities  as 
rigid,  his  self-mortification  as  complete,  as  they  had  ever  been  dur- 
ing his  abode  in  the  cloister.  Active,  laborious,  just,  blameless  in 
morals,  and  assiduous  in  his  secret  devotions,  his  only  relaxation 
was  to  dispute  with  a  few  schoolmen  on  the  dark  subjects  of  meta- 
physical theology.  But  no  luster  of  virtues  can  dazzle  envy,  and 
care  was  taken  to  misrepresent  his  best  measures.      He  wished  to 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  341 

1516-1517 

discipline  by  military  exercise  the  inhabitants  of  towns;  both  that, 
in  case  of  invasion,  the  nation  might  have  more  numerous  arms  for 
its  defense,  and  that  by  their  means  he  might  repress  the  rebellious 
designs  of  the  nobles.  Some  towns  received  the  novelty;  others, 
pretending  to  regard  it  only  as  a  prop  to  support  his  own  personal 
authority,  refused  to  obey  him.  Valladolid  was  the  first  to  remon- 
strate; and,  when  remonstrance  was  found  unavailing,  to  arm  in 
defense  of  its  privileges.  Burgos  and  Leon  next  followed  the  ex- 
ample, and  eventually  Toledo,  Avila,  Segovia,  and  Salamanca.  To 
punish  the  most  guilty  of  these  cities  a  body  of  royal  troops  was 
immediately  put  in  motion.  The  inhabitants  armed,  and  in  such 
numbers  as  to  prevent  the  meditated  assault.  The  cardinal  com- 
plained by  letter  to  the  king.  The  rebels  sent  a  deputy  to  justify 
their  conduct  and  to  expose  the  oppressive  character  of  the  gov- 
ernment. 

Similar  complaints  were  daily  received  at  Brussels,  until 
Carlos  associated  two  other  persons  witli  the  cardinal.  But  this 
expedient  was  useless :  his  commanding  genius  continued  to  direct 
the  whole  machine  of  administration ;  and,  however  unpopular  he 
might  be  with  a  certain  class,  even  that  class  preferred  a  native  to  a 
stranger  at  the  head  of  the  state.  Besides,  the  rapacity  of  the 
Flemish  governors,  who  exhibited  the  most  unquenchable  thirst 
for  gold,  and  sold  all  offices  over  which  they  had  any  control  to  the 
highest  bidder,  filled  the  people  with  disgust.  The  dissensions 
of  some  powerful  houses  added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  regent : 
two  disputed  for  the  duchy  of  ]\Iedina-Sidonia,  and  two  for  the 
priory  of  St.  John,  and  troops  were  necessary  to  keep  them  in 
check.  Some  other  causes  rendered  the  arrival  of  the  king  de- 
sirable. The  popular  discontent  increased  when  they  thought  that 
the  royal  absence  proved  something  like  indifference  to  the  rich  in- 
heritance which  awaited  him.  Many,  too,  were  justly  displeased 
that  the  richest  benefices  were  conferred  on  foreign  favorites,  who, 
bearing  royal  grants,  flocked  like  locusts  to  various  parts  of  the 
Peninsula.  Sicily  had  not  been  less  dissatisfied  than  Aragon. 
Carlos  now  perceived  the  necessity  of  his  presence  in  Spain.  In 
August  he  embarked  at  Middleburg.  and  in  a  month  arrived  within 
sight  of  Villa  Viciosa  in  the  Asturias.  The  nobles  and  prelates  now 
hastened  to  meet  their  sovereign;  among  the  rest  the  venerable 
Ximenes.  But  that  sovereign  he  was  doomed  to  see  no  more:  he 
suddenly  sickened  and  died  in  Old  Castile.      By  many  his  death  was 


342  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1517-1518 

believed  to  have  been  produced  by  poison,  administered  by  some 
courtiers  who  dreaded  the  exposure  of  their  own  conduct,  or  that 
the  influence  he  was  Hkely  to  obtain  over  the  royal  mind  would  be 
still  more  fatal  to  the  privileges  of  the  aristocracy.  Another  ac- 
count throws  the  guilt  on  the  Belgians,  but  apparently  with  as  little 
justice.  At  that  time  a  pestilential  disorder  was  raging  in  northern 
Spain,  and  Ximenes  doubtless  fell  a  victim  to  it.  His  loss  to  Spain 
was  irreparable,  for  he  departed  when  his  counsel  was  most  needed. 
To  the  learned  world  he  is  better  known  as  the  founder  of  the  uni- 
versity of  Alcala  de  Henares,  and  as  the  publisher  of  the  Complu- 
tensian  Polyglot,  than  as  a  minister.  That  this  distinguished  man 
had  a  great  defect  is  apparent  from  his  conduct  in  Granada.  His 
unbending  rigor  and  iron  sternness  of  manner  might  inspire  fear 
and  respect,  but  never  affection :  no  wonder  that  he  made  enemies  on 
every  side. 

The  Flemish  locusts  w^ho  accompanied  the  king  instinctively 
settled  on  every  inviting  spot.  From  the  archiepiscopal  miter  of 
Toledo,  w^hich  was  bestowed  on  the  bishop  of  Cambray,  a  nephew 
of  de  Chievres,  the  favorite  minister,  to  the  lowest  officers  of  the 
administration  and  the  church,  everything  was  grasped  by  the 
avaricious  strangers,  or  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  Fearful  that 
the  archbishop  of  Saragossa,  the  king's  uncle,  might  obtain  the 
primacy,  that  prelate  was  not  allowed  access  to  the  royal  presence 
until  the  necessary  bulls  had  been  obtained  from  the  pope.  This 
favoritism  so  incensed  the  people  that,  when  the  states  were  con- 
voked at  Valladolid  (July  4,  15 18)  to  swear  allegiance  to  the  king, 
the  deputies  were  instructed  to  insist  on  a  previous  oath  from  the 
throne — that  thenceforward  no  stranger  should  be  elected  to  any 
civil  or  ecclesiastical  dignity  in  Leon  or  Castile.  Though  the  min- 
isters of  the  crown  prevailed  on  the  representatives  to  abandon  the 
intention,  they  did  so  only  from  the  assurance  that  the  required 
promise  should  be  made  by  Carlos.  Homage  w^as  accordingly 
sworn,  a  supply  of  money  granted  by  the  deputies,  and  a  council 
established,  called  the  conscjo  dc  camara,  to  see  that  the  royal  briefs 
were  issued  only  in  favor  of  natives,  and  in  other  respects  to  control 
the  royal  revenues.  From  there  Carlos  proceeded  to  Saragossa, 
to  sanction  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  and  to  receive  its  homage  in 
return ;  but  he  found  the  Aragonese  less  tractable  than  even  the 
Castilians.  The  slates,  which  were  duly  opened  in  the  archiepis- 
copal palace,  v>armly  disputed  whether  he  should  be  acknowledged 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  343 

1518-1519 

king,  or  regent  only;  contending  that  Juana  was  the  rightful  sov- 
ereign, and  that  he  could  only  govern  as  her  lieutenant.  After 
some  sharp  debates,  it  was  at  length  agreed  that,  as  in  Castile  and 
Leon,  he  should  be  proclaimed  in  conjunction  with  his  mother,  and 
that,  in  case  he  had  no  issue,  his  brother  Ferdinand  should  be  ac- 
knowledged his  successor.  This  second  difficulty  being  removed  by 
the  Aragonese,  he  issued  his  writs  for  the  convocation  of  the  Cata- 
lan states  at  Barcelona.  This  province  was  no  less  tenacious  of  its 
will  than  the  rest.  The  same  obstacle  was  opposed  to  his  recogni- 
tion as  count;  but  in  the  end  it  followed  the  example  of  the  two 
kingdoms. 

While  the  king  remained  at  Barcelona  an  event  happened 
destined  to  exercise  great  influence  over  his  future  life,  over  his 
hereditary  states,  in  fact  over  all  Europe,  This  was  no  other  than 
his  election  to  the  imperial  throne  of  Germany,  now  vacant  by 
the  death  of  his  grandfather.  It  had  been  offered  to  the  elector 
of  Saxony,  who,  considering  the  vast  preparations  which  the  Turks 
were  making  for  the  subjugation  of  all  Christendom,  wisely 
declined  it,  and  recommended  to  the  diet  the  choice  of  Carlos,  as  the 
most  powerful  prince  of  his  age  and  the  only  one  capable  of  making 
head  against  the  barbarians.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  disap- 
pointed ambitions  of  Francis  I.,  king  of  France,  a  candidate  also  for 
the  imperial  diadem,  who,  in  hatred  of  his  successful  rival,  leagued 
with  the  enemy  of  the  Christian  faith,  destroyed  the  advantage 
which  the  election  was  calculated  to  procure  for  Europe. 

But  this  elevation,  though  it  pleased,  did  not  dazzle  the  Span- 
iards, so  as  to  render  them  insensible  to  the  conduct  of  their 
sovereign.  To  replenish  the  royal  coffers,  dignities  continued  to  be 
sold,  and,  what  was  still  more  galling,  chictly  to  foreigners.  With 
the  view  of  arresting  the  evil,  the  provinces  of  Segovia  and  Avila 
resolved  to  form  a  confederation  of  the  great  towns  for  the  defense 
of  their  undoubted  privileges.  Toledo,  Cuenca,  and  Jaen  soon 
joined  the  first  two,  and  it  was  agreed  that  a  deputation  from 
the  five  should  repair  to  the  court  to  remonstrate  against  the  abuse. 
The  deputies  performed  their  ofike.  Being  introduced  to  the  em- 
peror at  Barcelona,  they  represented  the  discontent  of  Castile,  on 
account  not  only  of  the  abuse  in  question,  -but  of  his  favoring  with 
his  residence  Aragon  and  Catalonia,  in  preference  to  the  ancient 
kingdom.  Tlie  freedom  of  this  remonstrance  gave  no  offense:  on 
the  contrary,  he  promised  that  means  should  be  used  to  satisfy  his 


344.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1519 

faithful  towns.  But  this  spirit  was  not  long  confined  to  Castile  and 
Andalusia :  a  confederation  was  formed  in  Valencia,  which  threat- 
ened to  be  more  formidable  than  the  other,  and  which  yet  originated 
in  accident.  The  plague  visited  the  capital;  the  nobles  fled  from 
its  ravages,  leaving  the  city  in  possession  of  the  people  and  magis- 
trates. On  the  feast  of  St.  Magdalen  a  Franciscan  friar  expatiated 
with  great  zeal  on  the  turpitude  of  a  crime  which  he  averred  was 
often  practised  in  Valencia,  and  which  had  drawn  down  the  ven- 
geance of  heaven,  in  the  shape  of  pestilence,  on  that  devoted  capital. 
His  discourse  roused  the  people,  who,  resolved  that  the  guilty 
should  not  escape,  hastily  ran  to  arms,  and  proceeded  to  take  justice 
into  their  own  hands.  In  vain  did  the  local  authorities  endeavor  to 
repress  the  tumult.  Certain  of  the  accused  were  actually  put  to 
death  by  the  populace,  and  the  governor  ordered  strict  inquiries  to 
be  made  for  the  ringleaders,  and  stationed  a  considerable  force 
to  overawe  the  mob.  Alarmed  at  the  fate  which  awaited  them 
in  the  event  of  apprehension,  the  really  guilty  had  influence 
enough  to  organize  another  confederation.  By  proclaiming 
the  near  invasion  of  the  Moors, — by  holding  out  to  the  peas- 
antry the  prospect  of  escape  from  the  oppression  of  the  nobles,  and 
to  all  the  defense  of  their  privileges  and  a  more  equitable  imposi- 
tion of  the  national  burdens, — they  prevailed  on  the  various  trades 
to  combine,  each  under  its  own  captain.  They  were  told  that, 
if  they  wished  for  redress,  they  must  bind  themselves  by  oath  to 
act  in  concert,  that  each  trade  should  elect  a  syndic,  and  that  the 
thirteen  syndics  thus  chosen  should  be  empowered  to  act  for  the 
whole  body.  The  proposal  was  tumultuously  embraced :  the  new 
authorities  were  chosen ;  and  a  deputation  waited  on  the  emperor 
at  Barcelona,  requesting  his  sanction  to  their  proceedings.  The 
two  objects  which  they  ostensibly  put  forward  as  the  cause  of  their 
confederation, — the  defense  of  the  kingdom  against  an  expected 
invasion  and  the  limitation  of  the  aristocratic  tyranny, — seemed 
specious  enough ;  but  they  owed  the  favor  wnth  which  they  were 
received  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times.  The  determination  of 
the  nobles  not  to  do  homage  unless  the  king  came  personally  to 
Valencia,  and  of  the  clergy  not  to  grant  the  tithe  of  ecclesiastical 
revenues,  had  greatly  exasperated  him.  He  allowed  the  trades  to 
remain  in  arms,  exhorting  them  only  to  do  nothing  without  the 
consent  of  the  governor,  and  in  all  cases  to  be  regulated  by  modera- 
tion and  by  due  regard  for  the  laws. 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  345 

1520 

The  emperor  had  soon  reason  to  repent  of  this  concession. 
When,  after  the  cessation  of  the  plague,  the  nobles  returned  to 
Valencia,  they  found  the  city  in  possession  of  an  armed,  insolent, 
and  lawless  mob.  Their  representation  caused  him  to  issue  a  de- 
cree that  the  inhabitants  should  lay  down  their  arms.  To  procure 
its  revocation,  four  citizens  were  deputed  by  the  confederation  to 
wait  on  him  at  Barcelona ;  but  though  they  artfully  expatiated  how 
necessary  their  body  was  for  the  defense  of  the  kingdom,  they 
would  never  have  attained  their  object  had  not  the  states,  by  a 
new  refusal  to  acknowledge  him  without  his  presence  in  the  Cortes, 
angered  Carlos  still  more  than  on  the  former  occasion.  His  re- 
sentment prevailed,  and  the  deputies  returned  in  triumph  to  their 
countrymen.  But  at  this  period  it  was  his  misfortune  to  make 
enemies  on  every  side.  As  the  constitution  of  Valencia  required 
that  he  should  be  present  to  fulfill  the  compact  with  his  people,  he 
should,  doubtless,  have  hastened  thither,  and,  by  yielding  prompt 
obedience  to  the  laws,  have  removed  all  pretext  for  rebellion.  The 
same  imprudence,  the  same  disregard  of  established  custom,  made 
him  summon  the  Cortes  of  Castile  and  Leon  to  meet  him  at  San- 
tiago, a  thing  never  before  attempted  by  the  most  arbitrary  of 
his  predecessors.  To  the  murmurs  produced  by  this  innovation 
the  ministers  paid  no  attention :  on  the  contrary,  they  did  all  they 
could  to  fan  the  flame  of  discontent,  by  interfering  in  the  return  of 
the  deputies,  and  by  bribing  such  as  they  could  not  nominate  to 
submit  in  everything  to  the  royal  will.  If  to  these  just  causes  of 
dissatisfaction  we  add  the  conviction  entertained  by  all  that  a 
large  grant  of  money  w^oukl  be  required  from  the  C(M-tes,  not  for  any 
national  object,  but  to  gratify  the  vain  splendor  of  their  monarch, 
and  to  be  wholly  expended  among  foreigners,  we  shall  not  be  sur- 
prised at  the  opposition  which  was  now  rapidly  organized  to  his 
will.  Toledo  displaced  the  deputies  whom  it  had  chosen,  and  nom- 
inated others  more  submissi^■e  to  the  popular  voice.  It  next  pre- 
vailed on  some  other  towns  to  join  in  insisting  on  the  following 
concessions :  That  the  king  should  not  leave  Spain ;  that  he  should 
require  no  subsidy;  that,  instead  of  conferring  dignities  on  foreign- 
ers, he  should  deprive  the  possessors  of  those  which  they  actually 
held;  that  no  money,  under  any  i)rctext  wlialcvcr,  sliould  leave  the 
kingdom;  that  offices  should  cease  to  be  venal;  and  that  the  Cortes 
should  be  assembled,  according  to  ancient  custom,  in  some  town  of 
Leon  or  Castile,  not  in  an  angle  (jf  Galicia.      Most  of  these  demands 


346  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1520 

were  reasonable  enough,  but  the  first  two  were  insulting,  and  all 
were  sure  to  be  highly  unpalatable  to  the  court.  The  deputies  who 
bore  them  waited  on  Carlos,  now  at  Valladolid,  on  his  way  to  Ga- 
licia,  and  sought  to  obtain  an  audience.  Carlos  now  hastened  to- 
wards Galicia,  the  Toledan  deputies  closely  following  him,  and  at 
every  town  requesting  an  audience ;  but  the  king  refused  to  see  them 
until  they  reached  Santiago. 

On  the  first  day  of  April  the  states  were  opened  in  the  con- 
vent of  San  Francisco.  The  speech  from  the  throne  laid  stress  on 
the  necessity  of  the  king's  immediate  voyage  to  Germany,  on  the 
expenses  with  which  it  would  be  attended,  as  well  as  on  that  which 
had  been  incurred  in  preparations  for  war  with  the  infidels,  and 
ended  by  demanding  a  gratuity.  For  a  moment  the  deputies  were 
silent;  but  those  of  Salamanca  rose,  and  protested  that  they  could 
not  take  the  accustomed  oath  of  allegiance  unless  the  king  would 
comply  with  the  demands  which  had  been  presented  to  him.  They 
were  immediately  supported  by  a  deputy  of  Toledo,  who  asserted 
that,  rather  than  consent  to  anything  prejudicial  either  to  the  city 
he  represented  or  to  the  kingdom,  he  would  sacrifice  his  life.  Em- 
boldened by  the  example,  the  delegates  of  Seville,  Cordova,  Zamora, 
Toro,  and  Avila  joined  with  the  three,  and  the  business  of  the  as- 
sembly was  for  some  days  interrupted.  Nothing  can  better  show 
the  degraded  state  in  which  the  Cortes  were  held,  and  the  power 
which  the  crown  had  been  accustomed  to  exercise  over  the  proceed- 
ings,— debates  were  unknown  among  them, — than  the  next  step 
of  the  king:  it  was  no  less  than  to  order  the  Toledan  deputies,  the 
most  violent  of  the  party,  to  leave  the  court.  In  vain  did  they 
petition — they  were  compelled  to  obey.  When  the  news  reached 
Toledo  the  population  was  in  an  uproar,  and  their  anger  still 
further  inflamed  by  the  arrest  of  two  of  their  magistrates,  Juan  dc 
Padilla  and  Fernando  Davalos.  The  states  were  now  transferred 
to  Corufia,  where,  with  some  reluctance, — so  effectually  had  the 
royal  influence  been  exercised  in  the  interim, — a  considerable  sub- 
sidy was  granted  to  the  monarch.  The  great  cities,  however,  re- 
fused to  sanction  it,  and  even  the  few  deputies  who  voted  it  accom- 
panied it  by  requests  exceedingly  obnoxious  to  the  court.  Anxious 
to  take  possession  of  the  brilliant  dignity  which  awaited  him,  and 
perhaps  to  escape  from  so  troubled  a  kingdom,  Carlos  closed  the 
Cortes,  and  prepared  to  embark.  He  left  the  regency  of  Castile  to 
Cardinal  Adrian ;  of  Aragon,  to  Don  Juan  de  Lannza ;  of  Valencia, 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  347 

1520 

to  the  Conde  de  Melito;  and  he  intrusted  the  command  of  the  troops 
to  approved  officers.  The  choice  of  Adrian,  a  foreigner,  was  pe- 
ciiharly  offensive  to  the  nobles  and  deputies  at  court :  they  soHcited 
another;  but  Carlos,  who  generally  adhered  to  his  plans  with  un- 
common tenacity,  refused  to  change.  In  May  he  embarked,  and 
proceeded  to  England,  to  concert  with  Henry  VHI.  the  means  of 
humbling  the  power  of  the  French  king. 

The  departure  of  the  king  was  not  likely  to  assuage  the  turbu- 
lence of  the  times.  If  the  opposition,  so  long  as  it  was  constitu- 
tionally exercised,  was  just,  and  even  laudable,  it  had  now  degen- 
erated into  rebellion,  and  patriotism  been  succeeded  by  schemes  of 
personal  ambition. 

Unfortunately  for  the  interests  of  order,  the  regency  was  held 
by  a  man,  estimable  and  virtuous  indeed,  but  little  fitted  for  such  a 
crisis.  The  insurrection  spread  to  other  cities  and  towns,  from 
Jaen  to  Leon,  and  from  Murcia  to  Badajoz :  everywhere  was  obe- 
dience to  the  laws  withheld,  and  the  government  insulted;  every- 
where were  plunder,  rape,  and  murder  triumphant. 

The  next  proceeding  of  the  rebels  was  distinguished  for  more 
boldness  and  for  something  like  originality.  At  the  head  of  the 
troops  furnished  by  Toledo,  IMedina  del  Campo,  and  other  places, 
and  accompanied  by  two  other  chiefs,  Padilla  proceeded  to  Torde- 
sillas  to  gain  possession  of  the  imbecile  Juana.  He  demanded  and 
obtained  an  audience,  expatiated  on  the  evils  which  had  befallen 
the  kingdom  since  the  death  of  the  Catholic  sovereigns,  her  parents, 
and  said  that  her  son  had  abandoned  tlie  kingdom  to  its  fate;  he 
ended  by  informing  her  that  he  placed  the  troops  of  Toledo,  Madrid, 
and  Segovia  at  her  disposal.  For  a  moment  the  queen  seemed  to 
have  regained  the  use  of  her  faculties;  she  replied  that  she  had  never 
before  heard  of  her  father's  death;  that  if  she  had,  she  would  not 
have  permitted  the  disorders  which  prevailed ;  that  she  desired  the 
weal  of  the  kingdom,  and  that  on  Padilla,  in  quality  of  captain- 
general,  she  devolved  the  duty  of  restoring  public  tranquillity.  Her 
rational  manner  of  discourse  made  the  deputies  hope  that  she  had 
been  restored  to  sanity;  they  did  homage  to  her  as  their  sovereign 
queen ;  and  in  her  name  the  representatives  of  the  confederation 
were  brought  from  Avila  to  Tordesilkis.  By  issuing  all  decrees  in 
her  name  and  by  her  authority,  they  hoped  to  give  legitimacy  to 
their  own.  But  she  almost  instantly  relapsed  into  her  former 
lethargy,  a  circumstance,  however,  which  they  carefully  concealed 


348  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1520-1521 

from  the  world.  Emboldened  by  the  success  of  their  enterprise, 
and  by  the  number  of  armed  men  who  daily  joined  them,  they  now 
resolved  to  subvert  the  power  of  regent  and  council,  and  even  to 
arrest  the  members. 

In  this  critical  position  of  the  royal  cause  it  was  fortunate 
that  Aragon,  Catalonia,  and  most  of  Andalusia  stood  aloof  from 
the  confederation.  Aragon,  indeed,  was  subsequently  troubled  for 
a  moment,  through  an  organized  opposition  to  the  viceroyalty  of 
Lanuza ;  but  tranquillity  was  restored  without  much  difficulty.  Se- 
ville, Cordova,  Xeres,  and  Grenada  either  returned,  without  con- 
descending to  open,  the  proposals  of  that  body,  or  reproached  it  for 
its  excesses.  The  rebellious  towns  no  less  persevered  in  their  career 
of  violence.  Burgos  expelled  one  of  the  regents,  who  narrowly 
escaped  with  his  life,  and  the  confederacy  of  Tordesillas  ordered  all 
three  not  only  to  resign  their  authority,  but  to  appear  and  answer 
for  their  conduct.  It  was  evident  that  nothing  less  than  civil  w^ar 
could  decide  the  problem  whether  the  king  or  the  mob  should  exer- 
cise the  government.  The  constable  began  to  act  with  vigor,  to 
collect  his  own  vassals,  and  to  summon  all  who  held  for  the  sovereign 
and  the  laws  to  join  him;  and  he  borrowed  money  from  Don  Man- 
uel, of  Portugal,  to  support  his  levies.  The  cardinal,  too,  seemed 
to  awake  from  his  imbecile  inactivity,  and  the  admiral  went  from 
place  to  place  to  rouse  the  sparks  of  slumbering  loyalty.  The  re- 
sult showed  what  might  have  been  accomplished  earlier  by  an  active 
combination  of  the  royalist  party ;  about  8,000  well-arme:.  men  soon 
repaired  to  Rioseco.  The  extent  of  the  preparations  and  the  expos- 
tulations of  the  constables  prevailed  on  Burgos  to  withdraw  from 
the  confederacy.  While  a  desultory  warfare  followed,  generally 
favorable  to  the  royalists,  Valencia  was  the  undivided  prey  of  an- 
archy; here  damning  deeds  were  committed,  which  threw  into  the 
shade  the  horrors  of  Castile  and  Leon.  The  thirteen  syndics  first 
endeavored  to  oppose  the  entrance  of  the  viceroy :  and  when  this  was 
found  impossible,  they  artfully  misrepresented  his  actions,  organ- 
ized a  determined  opposition  to  his  authority,  overawed  the  admin- 
istration of  justice,  rescued  the  most  notorious  criminals  from  ex- 
ecution, openly  attacked  his  house,  and  at  length  expelled  him  from 
the  city.  The  consequences,  not  in  the  capital  only,  but  in  the 
towns,  might  have  been  easily  anticipated.  All  who  were  hostile  to 
the  [jresent  order  of  things  were  pursued  with  vindictive  rage :  they 
were  even  sacrificed  at  the  altar,  their  wives  violated,  their  children 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  349 

1521-1522 

put  to  death  before  their  eyes,  the  priests  themselves  dragged  from 
their  sanctuary,  and  the  holy  sacraments  trod  under  foot.  In  short, 
there  was  no  species  of  crime  left  uncommitted. 

But,  fortunately  for  humanity,  evil  has  its  climax  as  well  as 
good,  and  the  descent  in  the  former  case  is  even  more  rapid  than  in 
the  latter. 

The  success  of  the  royalists  in  Leon  and  Castile  had  little  effect 
on  the  desperate  rebels  of  Valencia.  That  city,  like  other  towns  of 
the  kingdom,  continued  in  the  hands  of  a  furious  mob,  who  loudly 
proclaimed  that  no  clergy  should  be  maintained,  no  taxes  hereafter 
paid,  no  civil  government  supported,  since  all  were  violations  of 
natural  liberty.  The  thirteen  syndics  themselves  were  treated  with 
contempt. 

These  troubled  scenes  were  not  the  only  evil  experienced  by 
the  Spaniards  at  this  season :  they  were  afflicted  by  that  of  foreign 
invasion.  Knowing  that  the  forces  of  the  kingdom  were  occupied 
in  extinguishing  the  flames  of  rebellion,  the  French  king  thought 
this  a  favorable  opportunity  for  vindicating  the  claim  of  Henri 
d'Albret  to  the  throne  of  Navarre.  A  formidable  army  advanced 
under  Andre  de  Foix,  seized  on  St.  Jean  Pied  de  Pont,  passed  by 
Roncesvaux,  invested  and  took  Pamplona,  and.  as  the  country  had 
no  fortresses  to  defend  it,  it  became  the  easy  jjrcy  of  the  enemy. 
Had  the  French  been  satisfied  with  this  success,  and  erected  for- 
tresses to  defend  their  conquest,  the  throne  of  Navarre  might  have 
been  restored ;  but  the  general,  in  accordance,  as  is  believed,  with  an 
understanding  with  the  rebels  of  the  confederation,  invaded  Castile 
and  invested  Logrono.  The  place  made  a  gallant  defense  so  as 
to  allow  the  duke  of  Najera  to  advance  with  reinforcements.  On 
his  approach  the  siege  was  precipitately  raised,  the  French  were 
pursued,  were  signally  defeated, — 6,000  of  their  nunibcr  remaining 
on  the  field,  their  artillery  lost,  and  many  officers  captured,  among 
whom  was  the  general  in  chief,  Andre  de  Foix:  probably  a  still 
greater  number  perished  in  the  pursuit.  The  kingdom  was  regained 
with  greater  facility  than  it  had  been  lost.  No  sooner  did  Francis 
hear  of  this  signal  failure  than,  anxious  to  vindicate  the  honor  of 
his  arms,  he  dispatched  a  scdmuI  army,  under  tlie  Grand  Admiral 
Bonnivet.  On  this  occasion  the  invc'ulcrs  took  iuiontarabia.  after  a 
gallant  defense,  but  on  the  approach  of  the  Spiinish  general,  Don 
Bertram  de  la  Cueva,  they  retreated  I0  Bayonne.  They  returned 
indeed  to  resume  hostilities  on  the  frontier:  but  were  driven  back 


360  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1522-1527 

with  serious  loss  by  that  general.  In  1524  Fuentarabia  was  re- 
covered by  the  emperor. 

In  July,  1522,  the  emperor,  whose  presence  had  been  so  often 
requested  by  the  royalists,  arrived  in  Spain.  Early  in  the  same 
year  the  Cardinal  Adrian  had  been  invested  with  the  pontifical 
crown.  The  two  coregents,  the  admiral  and  the  council,  whose 
efforts  had  so  fortunately  extinguished  the  flames  of  rebellion,  met 
him  at  Santandar  to  congratulate  him  on  his  arrival  and  to  acquaint 
him  fully  with  the  state  of  the  country.  Having  visited  his  mother 
at  Tordesillas,  he  hastened  to  Valladolid,  where  his  presence  was 
naturally  dreaded.  It  was  expected  by  all  that  summary  justice 
would  be  inflicted  on  those  who  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the 
recent  disturbances;  but  clemency  was  the  basis  of  his  character, 
and  on  this  occasion  he  exercised  it  to  an  extent,  perhaps,  unpar- 
alleled in  history. 

During  the  remainder  of  this  prince's  reign  the  domestic 
tranquillity  was  undisturbed,  save  by  an  insurrection  of  the  Moors. 
The  Inquisition  laid  hold  of  the  opportunity  for  indulging  its  pro- 
pensity to  blood,  and  antos  de  fe  blazed  throughout  Valencia. 

Into  the  interminable  wars  of  this  sovereign, — in  other  words, 
into  his  transactions  as  emperor  of  Gennany, — this  compendium 
cannot  enter.  Those  in  Italy,  Germany,  and  France  must  be 
sought  in  the  general  histories  of  the  time.  We  may  mention  that 
of  two  expeditions  to  the  African  coast,  to  humble,  if  not  to  extir- 
pate, the  Mohammedan  pirates,  one  was  successful,  the  other  dis- 
astrous— the  latter  a  casualty  occasioned  by  a  tempest;  that  he 
compelled  the  Grand  Turk,  who  penetrated  into  the  center  of 
Europe,  to  retreat;  and  that  at  the  battle  of  Pavia  he  made  his  great 
rival,  Francis  I.,  prisoner.  His  behavior  to  that  monarch  was 
neither  dignified  nor  liberal :  anxious  to  derive  the  utmost  advan- 
tage from  circumstances,  he  exacted,  as  the  price  of  liberation,  con- 
ditions which,  after  long  hesitation,  Francis  signed,  but  with  a  pro- 
test that  they  should  not  be  binding.  Accordingly,  the  French 
monarch  was  no  sooner  in  his  own  dominions  than  he  openly  evaded 
them  and  again  tried  the  fortunes  of  war;  but  he  could  never— 
not  even  by  his  alliance  with  the  Lutherans  and  the  Turks — obtain 
any  advantage  over  his  great  rival. 

In  1525  Carlos  married  the  Princess  Isabel,  sister  of  Joam 
III.,  king  of  Portugal.  The  issue  of  this  union  in  1527  was,  besides 
two  daughters,  the  infante  Philip,  destined  to  be  no  less  famous 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  351 

1527-1554 

than  himself.  For  this  son  he  endeavored  to  procure  the  imperial 
crown  of  Germany,  but  his  brother  Ferdinand,  who  had  been  elected 
king  of  the  Romans,  would  not  forego  the  dignity,  nor  would  the 
electors  themselves  favor  the  pretensions  of  the  young  prince.  In 
1554,  however,  he  procured  for  Philip  the  hand  of  Princess  Mary; 
and  that  the  marriage  ceremony  might  be  performed  with  more 
splendor,  he  invested  him  with  the  regal  title  by  abdicating  in  his 
favor  his  Italian  possessions — the  kingdoms  of  Naples  and  Sicily, 
and  the  duchy  of  Milan.  This  was  not  enough :  he  was  preparing 
to  abdicate  the  whole  of  his  immense  dominions,  and  to  retire  for- 
ever from  the  world. 

From  the  prime  of  life  the  emperor  appears  to  have  meditated 
his  retreat  from  the  world.  One  of  his  German  biographers  tells 
us  that  the  design  was  formed  thirty  years  before  its  execution. 
Sandoval  states  that  both  he  and  the  empress,  who  died  in  1539, 
had  agreed  to  retire  into  the  cloister.  That  he  acquainted  St.  Fran- 
cis Borgia  with  his  extraordinary  resolution  as  early  as  1542  is 
indisputable  from  the  relation  of  the  prior  of  St.  Justus,  in  whose 
monastery  he  ended  his  days.  In  1555  the  death  of  his  mother, 
Queen  Juana,  made  him  decide  on  the  immediate  fulfillment  of  his 
long-cherished  project.  For  this  step,  indeed,  other  reasons  might 
be  given.  Though  only  fifty-six,  his  frame  was  greatly  enfeebled, 
— the  result  alike  of  constitutional  weakness  and  of  incessant  ac- 
tivity; and  he  was  subject  to  grievous  attacks  of  the  gout,  no  less 
than  to  other  acute  pains.  But  the  chief  cause  of  his  retreat  must 
be  traced  to  his  religious  temperament,  which,  even  when  ambition 
was  most  powerful  and  health  least  affected,  was  honorably  con- 
spicuous. 

Having  concluded  a  truce  with  Henry,  the  successor  of  Francis, 
— a  truce,  however,  which  the  perfidy  of  tlie  Frenchman  and  the 
ambition  of  the  pope  rendered  of  short  duration, — and  recalled 
Philip  from  England,  the  emperor  assembled  at  Brussels  the  slates 
of  the  Netherlands.  There,  amidst  the  most  imposing  solemnity 
ever  witnessed  since  the  days  of  the  Roman  Caesars,  he  resigned  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Low  Countries,  which  he  had  inherited  from  his 
father,  the  Archduke  Philip,  into  tlie  hands  of  his  son.  His  con- 
duct on  that  occasion  was  distinguished  by  dignity  and  affection — • 
affection  no  less  for  his  Flemish  subjects  than  for  Philip.  Never 
did  sovereign  meet  his  people  under  circumstances  of  such  interest; 
never  did  one  leave  them  with  more  of  their  reverence  or  of  their 


352  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1554-1558 

regret.  In  a  few  weeks  after  this  august  ceremony  Cliarles,  in  one 
no  less  imposing,  resigned  the  crown  of  Spain  and  the  dominions 
dependent  on  it  both  in  the  Old  and  New  World.  The  imperial 
crown  he  still  retained,  with  the  view  of  once  more  negotiating  with 
his  brother  Ferdinand  in  behalf  of  his  son;  but  in  a  few  months 
afterwards  he  despatched  the  instrument  of  resignation  from  his 
monastic  retreat. 

Having  taken  an  affectionate  leave  of  his  son,  Charles,  accom- 
panied by  his  two  sisters,  the  dowager  queens  of  France  and  Hun- 
gary, embarked  in  Zealand,  the  17th  of  September,  and  landed  at 
Laredo  in  Biscay,  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  The  place  which  he 
had  chosen  for  his  retreat  was  the  monastery  of  St.  Justus,  one  of 
the  most  secluded  and  delightful  situations  in  Estremadura.  He 
reached  his  destination  in  November,  1557,  and  there,  in  solitude 
and  silence,  he  buried  the  vast  schemes  which  had  so  long  agitated 
Europe. 

The  manner  of  life  followed  by  this  great  prince  in  his  retire- 
ment was  exceedingly  simple.  His  chief  exercises  were  those  of  de- 
votion :  he  observed,  as  far  as  his  infirmities  would  permit,  the  rule 
of  the  order  (Hermits  of  St.  Jerome)  with  as  much  scrupulosity 
as  if  he  had  contracted  the  obligation  by  vow.  In  pursuing  the 
monastic  life  of  the  imperial  penitent  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
he  preserved  at  all  times  his  mental  sanity.  He  used  the  discipline 
with  such  severity  that  he  was  often  covered  with  gore ;  and  he  ex- 
pressed his  regret  that,  owing  to  his  bodily  infirmities,  he  could  not 
incur  the  additional  mortification  of  sleeping  in  his  clothes.  St. 
Francis  de  Borgia,  who  had  exchanged  a  ducal  coronet  for  the 
coarse  mantle  of  the  Jesuits,  and  who  visited  him  in  his  retirement, 
observed,  with  more  justice  than  we  should  have  expected  from  an 
enthusiast,  that  he  should  comfort  himself  by  reflecting  how  many 
nights  he  had  passed  under  arms  in  the  service  of  Christendom,  and 
should  thank  God  for  having  thereby  done  what  would  be  more 
acceptable  in  the  sight  of  heaven  than  could  be  performed  by  many 
monks  in  their  cells.  All  hope  of  recovery  being  abandoned,  he 
confessed  daily;  and  at  length  caused  the  extreme  unction  to  be 
administered  to  him  by  the  prior,  just  as  was  practised  with  the 
monks,  some  of  whom  were  by  his  couch,  joining  him  in  repeating 
the  penitential  psalms.  One  evening  he  grew  worse.  After  mid- 
night, perceiving  that  all  around  him  were  wrapped  in  melancholy 
silence,  he  said,  "  Aly  hour  is  come!     Give  me  that  taper  and  cruci- 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  353 

1558 

fix !  "  He  took  the  lamp  with  one  hand,  the  crucifix  with  the  other, 
and  after  gazing  for  some  time  on  the  holy  symbol  of  salvation,  he 
exclaimed,  in  a  voice  loud  enough  to  be  heard  in  the  neighboring 
cells  "  Jesus ! "  at  the  same  moment  surrendering  his  soul 
to  God. 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  the  most  powerful  sovereign  Europe  had 
seen  since  the  days  of  Charlemagne.  Emperor  of  Germany,  king 
of  Spain,  Naples,  and  Sicily,  duke  of  Milan,  lord  of  the  Netherlands 
and  of  the  Indies,  his  sway  stretched  over  most  of  Europe,  and  a 
vast  portion  of  the  American  continent.  His  talents  were  unques- 
tionably of  a  high  order,  not  naturally,  but  by  culture :  no  sovereign 
was  ever  more  cautious  in  forming,  or  persevering  in  the  execution 
of  his  plans;  and  none  had  ever  a  clearer  insight  into  the  character 
of  man.  To  civil  or  religious  liberty  he  was  no  friend :  doubtless 
the  experience  which  he  had  had  of  the  communeros  in  Spain  and 
the  Lutherans  in  Germany  rendered  the  names  of  freedom  and 
dissent  odious,  and  more  closely  attached  him  to  the  maxims  of 
despotism  and  the  infallibility  of  the  church.  That  religion  was  a 
momentous  affair  in  his  eyes  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  he  could 
pardon  rebellion,  but  never  dissent.  He  did  not,  like  his  rival, 
Francis,  court  the  Protestants  in  one  country  while  he  burned  them 
in  the  other,  nor  did  he  call  the  barbarians  of  Turkey  into  the  heart 
of  Christian  Europe.  In  every  respect  he  was  superior  to  that 
vain  and  unprincipled  monarch,  who,  to  gratify  a  selfish  ambition, 
would  have  sacrificed  everything  to  it,  and  who  had  little  of  the 
boasted  honor  ascribed  to  him  by  Gallic  historians.  Tortuous  as 
was  sometimes  the  policy  of  the  emi>eror,  he  never,  like  Francis, 
acted  with  treachery ;  his  mind  had  too  much  of  native  grandeur  for 
such  baseness.  Sincere  in  religion  and  friendship,  faithful  to  his 
word,  clement  beyond  example,  indefatigable  in  liis  regal  duties, 
anxious  for  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  and  generally  blameless  in 
private  life,  his  character  will  not  suffer  by  a  comparison  with  that 
of  any  monarch  of  his  times.  Its  only  serious  blemish — always 
excepting  his  despotic  maxims,  and  liis  p-crsccution  of  dissenters, 
which  we  cannot  contemplate  without  execration — was  his  amours 
with  two  foreign  ladies,  by  whom  he  had  two  natural  children — 
Margarita,  married  first  to  Alexander  de  ^^ledicis,  next  to  Octavio 
Farnese;  and  Don  Juan,  surnamccl  of  Austria,  celei)rated  for  his 
victories  over  the  IMohammedans. 

]\Ieanwhile  his  legitimate  son  and  successor  had  already  reigned 


354.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1555-1559 

as  Philip  II.  of  Spain  since  his  father's  abdication  in  1556.  The 
two  chief  poHcies  of  his  rule  were  evidenced  from  the  start:  the 
restoration  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  and  the  unifying  into 
one  despotic  government  his  various  dominions. 

But  immediately  after  the  resignation  by  the  emperor  of  Naples 
and  Sicily  in  favor  of  Philip,  the  duke  of  Alva,  was  sent  to  protect 
that  kingdom  against  the  secret  enmity  of  the  pope  and  the  open 
hostility  of  the  French.  Paul  IV.,  who  was  bound  with  the  tiara 
in  1555,  was  as  favorable  to  France  as  he  was  hostile  to  her  rival; 
a  disposition  in  no  small  degree  owing  to  the  representations 
of  his  unprincipled  nephew,  Cardinal  Caraffa,  who,  though  a 
Neapolitan,  had  always  held  the  Spanish  sway  in  detestation,  and 
was  become  the  creature  of  Henry  III.  The  papal  displeasure 
was  signalized  by  the  arrest  of  the  Spanish  ambassador,  and 
by  the  citation  of  Philip,  whom,  as  king  of  Naples,  Rome  con- 
sidered as  its  vassal.  Confiding  in  the  promises  of  France,  Paul 
in  full  consistory  declared  Philip  deprived  of  the  Neapolitan  throne. 
The  duke  of  Alva,  aware  how  unpopular  such  a  war  would  be  with 
the  bigots  of  his  communion,  endeavored  to  incline  the  pontiff  to 
peace  by  concessions  which  w^ould  have  satisfied  any  other  sover- 
eign ;  but  seeing  them  haughtily  rejected,  he  put  his  troops  in  mo- 
tion, entered  the  papal  states,  and  seized  on  several  fortresses.  The 
Eternal  City  began  to  tremble  for  its  security,  and  was  forcing  Paul 
to  negotiate  with  the  victor,  when,  notwithstanding  the  truce  con- 
cluded by  the  emperor,  a  French  army  under  the  duke  of  Guise 
advanced,  and  hostilities  were  continued.  On  another  part  of  the 
frontier  the  truce  was  broken  at  the  same  time  by  the  admiral, 
Coligny,  governor  of  Picardy,  who  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
on  Douay.  Philip  himself  inflicted  so  severe  a  blow  on  the  French 
at  St.  Quentin,  that  Henry,  in  great  consternation,  recalled  the 
dnke  of  Guise.  The  pope  was  accordingly  left  at  the  mercy  of  the 
duke  of  Alva,  who  advanced  on  Rome,  and  forced  him  to  purchase 
peace  by  withdrawing  from  the  French  alliance.  As  Turkey  was 
banded  with  the  unscrupulous  Frenchman,  that  alliance  was  little 
honorable  to  the  head  of  the  church.  At  this  very  time  the  Ottoman 
fleet  was  ravaging  the  coast  of  Calabria,  whence  it  retired 
with  great  booty  and  many  captives.  The  duke  of  Alva,  whose 
presence  was  required  in  Flanders,  was  for  a  season  replaced  in  the 
viceroyalty  of  Naples  by  the  marquis  of  Santa  Cruz.  In  1559 
peace  was  made  witli  France,  and  Philip,  who,  by  the  death  of  Mary 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  355 

1565-1572  > 

of  England,  was  a  widower,  confirmed  it  by  marrying  Elizabeth, 
sister  of  the  French  king. 

But  if  this  peace  freed  Naples  from  the  hostilities  of  the  French 
it  could  not  arrest  the  frequent  depredations  of  the  Turks.  In 
general,  however,  these  depredations  led  to  no  result,  the  jMoham- 
medans  retiring  before  the  Spanish  forces.  But  in  1565  the  Sultan 
Solyman  equipped  a  powerful  armament,  both  for  the  conquest  of 
Malta,  which  the  Emperor  Charles  had  conferred  on  the  knights  of 
St.  John,  and  for  the  invasion  of  the  Spanish  possessions  on  the 
Continent.  The  details  of  the  wonderful  siege  sustained  by  those 
military  monks  must  be  sought  in  the  histories  of  the  order.  It  is 
not  easy  to  account  for  the  apathy  apparently  shown  by  Philip  to- 
wards their  cause,  especially  after  ordering  the  viceroy  of  Sicily  to 
defend  them.  However  this  be,  after  the  most  gallant  defense  on 
record,  when  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  assailants  and  most  of  the 
defenders  were  cut  off,  about  10,000  Spaniards  were  landed  on  the 
island  and  the  siege  was  raised;  but  the  Turks  did  not  re-embark 
until  they  had  sustained  a  defeat.  In  1570  the  war  between  the 
Venetian  republic  and  the  Porte  again  brought  the  Spaniards  into 
collision  with  the  latter  power,  Rome,  Venice,  and  Spain  having 
confederated  for  the  common  defense  of  Christendom.  The  com- 
bined fleet  assembled  at  Messina,  and  resolved  to  assail  the  formid- 
able armament  of  the  sultan.  In  the  celebrated  battle  which  fol- 
lowed (that  of  Lepanto),  the  papal  galleys  being  headed  by  Marco 
Antonio  Colonna,  the  Venetians  by  Doria,  and  the  Spaniards  by 
Don  Juan  of  Austria,  a  splendid  victory  declared  for  the  Christians ; 
30,000  of  the  enemy  were  killed  in  the  combat,  10,000  were  made 
prisoners,  while  four-fifths  of  the  vessels  were  destroyed  or  taken. 

In  France,  meanwhile,  the  jealousy  which  had  actuated  the  em- 
peror and  Francis  was  transmitted  to  their  heirs.  Philip,  however, 
had  no  intention  to  break  the  truce  which  it  had  been  one  of  his 
father's  latest  acts  to  procure;  but  as  before  observed,  the  hatred  of 
the  pope  and  the  faithlessness  of  Henry  forced  him  into  the  war. 
Assisted  by  the  troops  of  his  consort,  Mary  of  England,  Philip  in- 
vaded France,  and  his  generals  laid  siege  to  St.  Ouciilin,  while  the 
duke  of  Alva,  as  before  related,  vigorously  defended  Italy  against  a 
French  army  under  the  duke  of  Guise.  The  constable,  accompanied 
by  the  martial  chivalry  of  the  countrv.  hastened  to  relieve  St. 
Ouentin;  but  under  the  walls  of  that  fortress  he  sustained  a  disas- 
trous defeat,  which  was  followed  by  the  surrender  of  the  place. 


356  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1572 

Mary  had  little  reason  to  congratulate  herself  on  her  impolitic 
quarrel  with  Henry ;  she  lost  Calais,  and  two  smaller  forts, — nW  that 
remained  of  the  English  possessions  in  the  country, — and  died  be- 
fore the  conclusion  of  the  war.  So  far  was  Philip  from  indemnify- 
ing his  ally  for  the  loss  sustained,  that,  four  months  after  her  de- 
cease, he  made  peace  with  France,  and  confirmed  it  by  a  new  mar- 
riage. 

For  many  years  after  this  event  the  two  monarchs  remained 
outwardly  in  peace,  but  inwardly  agitated  by  jealousy  or  ill-will: 
France  had  reason  to  dread  the  ambitious  views  of  the  Castilian ; 
and  the  latter  was  far  from  satisfied  with  the  secret  encouragement 
afforded  by  the  French  Protestants,  with  the  full  connivance  of 
the  court,  to  their  brethren  of  the  Low  Countries,  who  were  striving 
to  shake  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  The  troubles  which  distracted  the 
Gallic  kingdom  during  the  wars  of  the  League  afforded  Philip  an 
opportunity  wdiich  he  had  long  coveted,  of  interfering  in  the  affairs 
of  that  kingdom,  ostensibly  in  support  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith, 
but  quite  as  much  for  his  own  advantage.  As  the  protector  of  the 
League,  he  at  first  furnished  the  rebels  with  money,  and  subse- 
quently ordered  the  governor  of  the  Netherlands,  the  prince  of 
Parma,  to  invade  the  country,  and  to  effect  a  junction  with  them. 
But  the  abilities  of  Henry  IV.,  and  the  valor  of  his  Protestant  ad- 
herents, the  assistance  of  Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  and,  above 
all,  his  conversion  to  the  established  faith,  rendered  the  combined 
efforts  of  Spaniards  and  Leaguers  of  no  ultimate  avail. 

But  by  far  the  most  important  of  the  wars  of  Philip 
were  with  his  revolted  subjects  of  the  Low  Countries.  Soon 
after  his  accession  he  learned  that  the  Reformation  had  made 
alarming  progress  in  these  provinces,  and  he  resolved  to  extirpate 
it.  His  bigotry  to  the  ancient  religion,  his  stern,  we  may  add  cruel, 
character,  caused  him  to  prefer  violent  to  persuasive  measures.  A 
little  reflection  might  have  convinced  him  that  he  could  never  suc- 
ceed in  his  object,  and  that  by  the  bare  attempt  he  would  risk  the 
security  of  his  government.  His  repulsive  manners,  his  arbitrary 
measures,  and  the  manifest  preference  which  he  gave  to  his  Spanish 
subjects,  soon  estranged  both  Flemings  and  Dutch  from  his  person. 
To  his  father,  whose  demeanor  was  marked  by  unwonted  conde- 
scension, and  who  really  loved  them,  they  had  been  devotedly  at- 
tached. Though  the  emperor  was  no  less  a  bigot  than  the  son — 
though  from  1521  to  1555    no  fewer  than  50,000  Protestants  are 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  357 

1556-1559 

said  to  have  perished  by  fire  or  sword, — the  Roman  Catholics  were 
by  far  the  more  numerous  party,  and  ready  to  support  him  in  his 
bloody  proscriptions.  In  his  resolution  of  extirpating  the  Protes- 
tants the  king  commenced  by  giving  new  vigor  to  his  decrees;  and 
to  insure  their  execution  he  created  a  new  tribunal,  with  powers 
similar  to  those  of  the  ancient  Spanish  inquisition,  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  heresy.  Both  measures  were  obnoxious  to  the  people, 
not  merely  to  the  secret  Protestants,  but  to  the  Catholics,  who  were 
subjected  to  new  impositions  to  defray  the  expense  of  both.  Philip, 
who  had  extravagant  notions  of  the  royal  power,  paid  no  regard  to 
murmurs  which  he  was  resolved  to  stille  by  force.  As  Spain  de- 
manded his  presence,  he  intrusted  the  regency  to  his  natural  sister, 
Margarita,  duchess  of  Parma,  a  princess  devoted  to  his  will. 

After  the  king's  departure  the  regent  put  the  obnoxious  edicts 
into  execution,  and  the  blood  of  martyrs  moistened  the  soil  of  the 
Low  Countries.  Her  natural  disposition  was  doubtless  averse  to 
cruelty;  but  she  was  governed  by  Cardinal  Granvelle,  a  furious 
zealot,  to  whose  suggestions,  as  they  were  strictly  in  conformity 
with  the  instructions  of  Philip,  she  was  almost  compelled  to  defer. 
The  native  nobles  who  formed  the  council  of  regency  were  not  a 
little  chagrined  to  find  their  voices  powerless ;  that  measures  were 
framed  not  only  without  their  consent,  but  without  their  knowl- 
edge ;  and  they  resolved  to  remove  the  odious  churchman.  Among 
these  were  two  of  more  than  ordinary  consideration:  William, 
prince  of  Orange,  and  Count  Egmont;  the  former  governor  of  Hol- 
land, Zealand,  and  Utrecht — the  latter  of  Artois  and  Flanders. 
Both  could  boast  of  great  services ;  both  were  actuated  by  no  ordi- 
nary degree  of  ambition;  both  had  aspired,  and  probably  now 
aspired,  to  the  regency.  With  the  view  of  regaining  the  influence 
they  so  much  coveted,  they  complained  bitterly  in  their  letters  to 
the  king  of  the  cardinal's  measures,  which  they  declared  would  pro- 
duce a  general  rising  in  tlie  provinces,  unless  their  author  were 
speedily  recalled.  Philip  paid  no  attention  to  tlie  representation: 
he  suspected,  what  was  probably  the  trutli,  that  William,  who  had 
married  a  Protestant  princess,  was  no  longer  of  the  ancient  re- 
ligion, that  the  count  particijiated  in  the  new  opini(~)ns.  and  that 
both  were  in  consequence  naturally  a\erse  to  witness  the  persecution 
of  their  sect.  The  cardinal,  indeed,  had  few  df  the  qualities  which 
command  esteem:  hruiglitv  in  his  mruiners.  and  intlexibly  bent,  both 
from  principle  and  mistaken  duty,  on  the  execution  of  his  measures 


358  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1559-1565 

for  the  destruction  of  the  reformed  rehgion,  he  hstened  to  no  repre- 
sentations, but  with  a  bhnd  obstinacy  persevered  in  his  dangerous 
career.  The  decrees  of  the  council  of  Trent — decrees  written  in 
blood — were  ordered  to  be  executed  with  even  increased  severity 
by  some  bigoted  counselors.  The  manner  in  which  they  were  re- 
ceived by  some  of  the  local  magistracy,  and  the  murmurs  raised 
against  them  even  by  the  more  sensible  Catholics,  made  a  deep  im- 
pression on  the  regent.  In  the  fear — certainly  no  ill-grounded 
one — that  a  wide-spread  insurrection  would  be  the  result,  she  dis- 
patched Count  Egmont  to  Madrid  to  represent  the  exact  position 
of  affairs  to  the  king.  He  w^as  politely,  and  even  honorably,  re- 
ceived by  Philip,  who,  however,  w'ould  not  deviate  from  the  policy 
that  had  been  so  unfortunately  commenced.  A  confederacy  was 
now  formed,  professedly  to  prevent  the  introduction  of  the  dread 
inquisition,  but  in  reality  to  procure  uncontrolled  liberty  of  con- 
science, or  to  throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  It  was  headed  by  Philip 
de  Marnix,  lord  of  St.  Aldegonde;  but  though  the  three  nobles 
before  mentioned  were  not  members,  they  were  the  soul  of  its  pro- 
ceedings. In  a  short  time  such  numbers  acceded  to  it  that  the 
regent  was  compelled  either  to  raise  an  army  or  to  relax  in  her 
persecution :  as  none  of  the  great  barons  would  take  the  command, 
she  adopted  the  latter  expedient.  Unfortunately  for  the  reformed 
cause,  this  concession  did  not  produce  the  benefit  it  ought  to  have 
done.  Emboldened  by  their  numbers,  and  still  more  by  their  recent 
triumph,  the  lower  class  of  Protestants  rose  in  several  of  the  towns 
to  inflict  on  the  Roman  Catholics  wdiat  they  themselves  had  suf- 
fered ;  perhaps  more  still  were  incited  by  the  hope  of  plunder.  This 
was  but  the  beginning  of  horrors  :  a  furious  organized  band,  ampli- 
fied as  it  went  along,  hastened  to  the  neighboring  towns;  and,  if  the 
relations  of  Catholic  writers  are  to  be  believed,  soon  laid  waste  four 
hundred  sacred  edifices.  Even  at  Ghent,  the  seat  of  Count  Eg- 
mont's  government,  churches  were  pillaged,  and  libraries  consumed 
by  fire,  without  any  opposition  from  him.  During  the  three  en- 
suing days  the  same  disorders  abounded ;  the  churches  and  monas- 
teries were  profaned,  and  the  great  libraries  committed  to  the 
flames.  These  excesses  were  committed  by  a  handful  of  men  :  their 
number  seldom  reached  one  thousand, — a  proof  that  their  proceed- 
ings were  tacitly  connived  at  by  the  local  authorities.  At  length  the 
Protestant  nobles,  ashamed  of  these  horrors,  and  convinced  how 
much  prejudice  they  must  do  to  the  cause,  assisted  the  regent  to 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  359 

1566-1598 

restore  tranquillity,  and  their  efforts  were  soon  crowned  with 
success. 

When  Philip  received  intelligence  of  these  events,  he  called  a 
council,  which,  after  some  deliberation,  resolved  that  an  army- 
should  be  sent  to  extirpate  heresy  by  open  force.  Its  command  was 
intrusted  to  the  duke  of  Alva,  whose  relentless  disposition 
seemed  well  adapted  for  the  task.  His  powers  were  much  more 
ample  than  those  of  a  general-in-chief :  they  went  so  far  as  to 
control  the  authority  of  the  regent.  His  arrival  spread  great  con- 
sternation in  the  provinces;  the  more  so,  when  counts  Egmont  and 
Horn  were  arrested  (Prince  William,  too  wise  to  await  him,  had 
fled  into  Germany)  ;  and  the  regent,  finding  that  she  was  in  fact 
superseded,  resigned  her  authority,  and  returned  into  Italy.  Many 
thousands,  in  dread  of  the  approaching  persecution,  fled  into  the 
Protestant  states  of  Europe;  to  no  country  more  readily  than  to 
England.  It  was  severe  enough  to  fill  all  the  Protestant  states  of 
Europe  with  concern,  and  even  to  draw  forth  expostulation  from 
several  Catholic.  How  little  such  remonstrance  availed  with  either 
the  king  or  his  viceroy  appeared  from  the  execution  of  the  counts 
Egmont  and  Horn,  and  from  the  confiscation  of  Prince  William's 
possessions.  Their  death  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  people, 
who  began  to  turn  their  eyes  towards  the  prince  of  Orange,  whom 
they  requested  to  arm  in  behalf  of  his  suffering  country.  William 
was  sufficiently  inclined,  both  by  love  of  liberty  and  personal  ambi- 
tion, to  make  the  attempt.  Pie  and  his  brothers  had  for  some  time 
been  making  preparations, — raising  money  and  troops  in  the  Pro- 
testant states  of  Germany,  and  collecting  the  exiles  who  had  fled 
from  the  scaffold. 

To  enter  into  the  details  of  the  interminable  wars  which  fol- 
lowed, from  1568  to  1598,  would  little  accord  eitlier  with  the  limits 
or  the  design  of  this  history:  we  can  allude  only  to  the  prominent 
events.  Success  was  for  some  time  a  stranger  to  the  arms  of  the 
prince  and  his  allies.  Though  at  the  opening  of  the  first  campaign 
Louis  of  Nassau,  brother  of  the  prince,  defeated  the  Spanish  gen- 
eral. Count  Aremberg.  the  victor  was  speedily  compelled  to  flee  into 
Germany,  by  Alva  in  person.  The  first  campaign  of  William  was 
no  less  disastrous.  His  hasty  levy,  20.000  strong,  of  raw  troops, 
or  enthusiastic  religionists,  were  little  fitted  to  encounter  the  cool 
discipline  of  the  enemy;  nor  was  he  himself  a  match  for  the  able 
Castilian.      Again  did  thousands  emigrate;  and  as  these  were    for 


360  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1563-1576 

the  most  part  the  most  industrious  and  useful  of  the  people,  their 
retreat  inflicted  a  serious  blow  on  the  resources  of  the  country. 
Such  as  reached  England  were  received  with  kindness  by  Elizabeth, 
who  had  probably  furnished  money  to  the  prince,  and  who  was 
eager  to  humble  the  pride  of  Spain.  The  unpopularity  of  the  duke 
was  still  further  increased  by  the  contributions  which  he  wrung 
from  the  public — often  in  direct  violation  of  the  constitutional 
forms — to  support  his  armaments  and  endless  array  of  civil  gov- 
ernment. At  length  some  of  the  seafaring  exiles  commenced  an- 
other series  of  operations,  by  taking  the  town  of  Brille,  on  the  isle 
of  Vorn,  in  the  name  of  the  prince  of  Orange.  This  first  success 
was  sullied  by  savage  barbarity :  the  monks  and  priests  were  massa- 
cred in  every  direction.  Next  Flushing  revolted:  the  example  was 
speedily  followed  by  other  towns  of  Zealand ;  especially  when  mil- 
itary stores,  several  companies  of  exiles,  and  some  of  the  British 
adventurers  arrived  from  England.  The  defeat  of  a  Spanish  fleet, 
under  the  duke  of  Medina-Celi,  spread  the  spark  into  a  conflagra- 
tion. The  insurrection  now  extended  to  Holland,  all  the  cities  and 
towns  of  which,  Amsterdam  only  excepted,  declared  for  the  pa- 
triotic cause.  Mons  was  taken  through  stratagem  by  Count  Louis, 
on  his  return  from  the  civil  wars  of  France.  It  was  besieged  by 
Alva ;  the  prince  of  Orange  advanced  to  relieve  it ;  but  it  was  re- 
covered by  the  Spaniard,  and  the  prince  was  even  obliged  to  disband 
his  army.  But  if  the  cause  was,  on  the  whole,  unfortunate  in  the 
southern  provinces,  it  continued  to  improve  in  the  northern.  In 
an  assembly  of  the  Dutch  states,  held  at  Dort,  they  openly  recog- 
nized William  as  their  governor,  and  voted  him  supplies  for  carry- 
ing on  the  war.  By  their  invitation  he  arrived  among  them,  and 
the  reformed  religion  was  declared  that  of  the  state.  Alva  and 
his  son  took  the  field  to  recover  the  places  which  had  rebelled ;  and 
wherever  their  arms  were  successful,  the  cruelties  inflicted  by  them 
on  the  inhabitants  were  certainly  horrible.  It  may,  however,  be 
doubted  whether  they  were  not  fully  equalled  by  the  atrocities  of  the 
Count  de  la  Marck  and  other  Protestant  leaders;  atrocities  which 
William,  with  laudable  humanity,  endeavored  to  end.  Philip  was 
at  length  convinced  that  a  wrong  policy  had  been  adopted,  and 
Alva  was  either  recalled,  or  permitted  to  retire.  Under  the  council 
of  state  which  next  governed  the  Netherlands,  Spanish  affairs  wore 
a  much  worse  aspect.  Sometimes  the  troops  mutinied  for  their 
arrears  (jf  pay,  which  Philip's  coffers  could  not  often  satisfy.     They 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  361 

1576-1584 

seized  Alost,  and  plundered  Antwerp,  which  had  shown  more  at- 
tachment to  the  prince's  cause.  To  restore  the  fortune  of  the  war, 
in  1576  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  the  king's  brother,  was  appointed  to 
the  regency.  Before  his  arrival,  however,  tlie  states,  both  Catholic 
and  Protestant,  assembled  at  Ghent,  with  the  intention  of  devising 
measures  for  the  common  weal.  These  both  agreed  that,  until  the 
Spanish  troops  were  expelled,  there  could  be  no  happiness  for  the 
people.  On  Juan's  arrival  he  was  required  to  dismiss  them ;  and  on 
his  refusal,  applications  for  succor  were  made  to  the  Protestant 
Powers.  Even  the  duke  of  Anjou,  brother  of  the  French  king, 
declared  for  the  states;  not,  however,  from  any  sympathy  with 
struggling  freedom,  but  from  a  hope  of  the  crown,  which  a  party 
promised  to  procure  for  him.  Alarmed  for  the  result,  the  regent 
agreed  to  the  demand,  on  the  condition  that  Philip  should  continue 
to  be  recognized  as  the  lawful  sovereign.  After  some  warlike  oper- 
ations, in  which  assistance  was  furnished  by  Elizabeth,  and  which 
were  to  the  advantage  of  the  confederates,  the  duke  of  Anjou,  who 
could  muster  an  army,  was  invited  by  the  Catholics  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  government.  Before  the  negotiations  with  this  prince 
were  concluded,  Don  Juan  died,  and  the  prince  of  Parma,  by  far  the 
ablest  officer  in  the  Spanish  service,  arrived,  took  command  of  the 
king's  forces,  and  by  his  valor  no  less  than  his  policy  changed  the 
position  of  affairs.  He  gained  possession  of  Flanders,  Artois,  and 
Hainault ;  but  William  of  Orange  had  address  enough  to  maintain 
all  Holland,  Guelderland,  and  Friesland,  with  a  proportion  of  Bra- 
bant, in  his  interests.  These  states  he  formed  into  a  confederacy, 
called  the  Union  of  Utrecht,  from  the  place  where  it  was  held.  The 
apparent  object  was  to  secure  the  common  weal;  the  real  one,  to 
subvert  the  Spanish  sway.  This  confederacy  was  the  foundation 
of  the  Seven  United  Provinces.  Tlie  election  of  the  duke  of  An- 
jou threatened  forever  to  destroy  the  expiring  domination  of  Spain, 
which  the  same  states  (in  1580)  declared  to  be  at  an  end.  But 
Anjou  was  weak  and  faithless,  and  was  soon  expelled  by  his  new 
subjects.  Subsequently,  indeed,  they  showed  a  disposition  to  be 
reconciled  with  him;  but  his  dcatli  intervened,  and  again  left  the 
prince  of  Parma  a  theater  for  the  exercise  of  his  talents.  It  was 
immediately  followed  by  that  of  llie  jirince  of  Orange,  who  was 
assassinated,  it  has  been  charged,  at  the  instance  of  the  king  him- 
self. lUit  though  William  had  been  denounced  as  a  traitc^u"  for 
the  part  which  he  had  taken  in  the  election  of  Anjou,  and  in  the 


362  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1584-1592 

adjuration  of  Philip's  authority,  and  though  two  preceding  attempts 
— one  of  which  had  nearly  proved  fatal — had  been  made  on  his 
life,  it  is  highly  improbable  that  so  dark  and  base  a  deed  was  ever 
contemplated  by  the  monarch.  Philip  was  stern  and  cruel ;  but  he 
was  no  lurking  assassin. 

The  death  of  this  justly  celebrated  man  did  not  produce  any 
advantage  for  Spain :  though  his  eldest  son,  the  Count  de  Buren, 
was  a  hostage  in  the  hands  of  Philip,  the  second.  Prince  Maurice, 
soon  showed  that  he  was  able  to  tread  in  his  steps.  The  southern 
provinces,  indeed,  as  far  as  the  Scheldt,  were  persuaded  or  com- 
pelled by  the  general  Farnese  to  swear  anew  allegiance  to  the 
Spaniard :  from  community  of  religious  feeling,  and  from  hereditary 
attachment,  his  path  here  was  smoothened;  but  in  the  northern, 
where  the  principles  of  the  Reformation  had  struck  so  deeply  into 
the  soil,  the  house  of  Orange  had  laid  the  sure  foundation  of  its  fu- 
ture sway.  The  latter,  after  the  loss  of  Antwerp,  which  was  re- 
duced by  Farnese  in  1585,  were  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  the 
Protestants  from  the  Spanish  provinces,  and  by  the  arrival  of  exiles 
from  Germany  and  Britain.  So  much  alarmed,  however,  were  the 
confederated  states  at  the  successes  of  their  able  enemy,  that  they 
offered  the  sovereignty  of  the  Netherlands  to  the  king  of  France, 
on  the  condition  of  his  sending  an  army  to  their  defense;  and,  when 
he  declined  it,  the  same  offer  was  made  to  Elizabeth.  But  though 
that  queen  had  assisted,  and  was  still  ready  to  assist,  the  insurgents, 
she  did  not  wish,  by  an  open  acceptance  of  the  crown,  to  plunge  at 
once  into  a  war  with  the  formidable  Philip.  She  satisfied  herself  Vv' ith 
sending  6,000  men,  under  the  weak  and  profligate  earl  of  Leicester, 
to  assist  the  cause.  That  she  had  ultimate  views  on  the  sovereignty 
is  beyond  dispute ;  but  the  poor,  vain  favorite,  her  general,  did  more 
harm  than  good:  in  addition  to  his  military  blunders,  he  had  the 
art  of  incurring,  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  the  hatred,  no  less 
than  the  contempt,  of  the  confederates.  Being  suspected,  and  on 
no  slight  grounds,  of  aspiring  to  that  sovereignty  himself,  and  see- 
ing the  universal  current  against  him,  he  fled  to  England,  when 
Elizabeth  compelled  him  to  resign  his  authority  as  governor.  But 
the  impolitic  war  of  Philip  with  France,  which  drew  the  prince  of 
Parma  from  the  Low  Countries,  more  than  counterbalanced  the 
mischief  occasioned  by  the  worthless  minion  of  the  English  court. 
The  confederates  had  not  only  time  to  consolidate  their  powers 
north  of  the  Scheldt,  but  to  make  even  destructive  irruptions  into 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  363 

1592-1587 

Brabant  and  Flanders.  The  extraordinary  military  powers  of 
Prince  Maurice  rendered  him  no  mean  antagonist  for  even  the  able 
Farnese.  In  1592  the  latter  died,  and  with  him  ended  the  hope 
of  subduing  the  northern  provinces.  Philip  now  opened  his  eyes 
to  the  impossibility  of  maintaining  the  Netherlands  in  obedience: 
he  found  that,  even  with  the  Catholic  states,  the  name  of  Spaniard 
was  odious ;  and,  as  he  was  approaching  the  end  of  his  days,  he  was 
naturally  anxious  to  settle  the  affairs  of  the  country.  These  con- 
siderations, added  to  the  affection  which  he  bore  for  his  daughter, 
the  infanta  Isaloel,  and  the  esteem  which  he  entertained  for  Albert, 
made  him  resolve  to  marry  the  two,  and  resign  the  government  to 
them  and  their  heirs.  This  was  one  of  his  most  prudent  meas- 
ures :  if  it  could  not  recall  Holland  and  the  other  Protestant  prov- 
inces to  obedience,  it  seemed  likely  at  least  to  preserve  those  which 
were  still  left.  The  deed  of  abdication  was  executed  in  May,  1598, 
about  four  months  before  the  monarch's  death. 

Elizabeth  had  from  time  to  time  afforded  succor  to  the  insur- 
gents of  the  Netherlands,  but  this  was  not  the  only  cause  of  Philip's 
resentment  and  of  his  desire  for  revenge.  She  had  fomented  the 
disturbances  in  Portugal,  consequent  on  the  death  of  Cardinal 
Henrique;^  and  her  captains,  among  whom  Sir  Francis  Drake 
was  the  most  active,  had  for  many  years  committed  unjusti- 
fiable depredations  on  the  Spanish  possessions  of  South  America, 
and  more  than  once  on  the  coasts  of  the  Peninsula  itself.  Thus, 
omitting  all  mention  of  preceding  devastations  in  Portugal,  in  1585 
he  plundered  the  coast  of  Galicia,  ravaged  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands, 
pillaged  the  town  of  San  Domingo,  and  still  more  fatally  that  of 
Carthagena  on  the  Gulf  of  Florida.  When  Philip's  patience  was 
exhausted,  and  his  affairs  in  the  Netherlands  allowed  him  a  few 
months'  respite  to  avenge  the  insults  he  had  so  long  sustained,  he 
diligently  began  to  prepare  a  mighty  armament,  which,  though  its 
destination  was  secret,  was  suspected  by  all  to  be  intended  against 
England.  In  1587  Elizabeth  dispatched  Sir  Francis  to  reconnoiter 
the  coasts  of  the  Peninsula,  and  if  possil)le  to  annihilate  the  prepar- 
ations which  were  proceeding  with  so  much  rapidity.  In  April 
that  admiral,  accompanied  by  twenty-five  vessels,  appeared  before 
Cadiz,  and,  by  hoisting  iM-ench  and  Flemish  colors,  entered  the  bay. 
But  he  found  the  troops  aware  at  lengtli  of  his  country  and  drawn 

1  See  the  contemporary  portion  of  the  history  of  Portugal,  in  the  present 
vohnne. 


364.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1588 

up  to  receive  him.  He  therefore  made  no  attempt  to  land,  but, 
having-  set  fire  to  twenty-six  merchant  vessels,  he  returned,  after 
capturing  a  spice  ship  from  India.  This  aggression,  though  in 
itself  of  no  great  importance,  was  not  likely  to  cool  the  animosity  of 
Philip:  the  preparations  were  hastened;  all  the  seaports  of  Spain, 
the  viceroys  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  the  governor  of  Milan  and  the 
Netherlands  furnished  vessels,  troops,  or  money.  The  general 
rendezvous  was  Lisbon,  and  the  command  of  the  fleet  confided  to 
the  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia,  w'hile  the  prince  of  Parma  was  to 
conduct  the  land  forces.  After  some  fruitless  attempts  at  negotia- 
tion, in  which  neither  party  was  sincere,  and  in  which  both  merely 
sought  to  gain  time,  a  fleet  of  130  ships,  some  of  the  largest  that 
ever  plowed  the  deep,  carrying,  exclusive  of  8,000  sailors,  no  less 
than  20,000  of  the  bravest  troops  in  the  Spanish  armies,  and  the 
flower  of  the  Spanish  chivalry,  in  May,  1588,  left  the  harbor  of 
Lisbon.  The  pompous  epithet  of  the  Invincible,  which  self-confi- 
dence had  applied  to  this  mighty  armament,  the  approbation  of  the 
pope,  and  the  great  reinforcement  which  the  prince  of  Parma  had 
prepared  in  Flanders,  might  well  inspire  the  enemy  with  hope  of 
success.  Off  the  coast  of  Galicia  the  ships  were  assailed  by  a 
furious  tempest :  some  of  them  were  shattered ;  a  month  was  re- 
quired to  repair  them;  so  that  the  fleet  did  not  arrive  within  sight 
of  the  English  coast  before  the  end  of  July.  Though  Lord  Howard 
and  Sir  Francis  were  not  so  imprudent  as  openly  to  assail  so 
formidable  an  enemy,  they  harassed  him  without  intermission,  and 
inflicted  irreparable  damage  on  some  of  the  larger  ships.  It  was 
the  intention  of  the  Spanish  admiral  to  join  the  fleet  of  the  Nether- 
lands wliich  lay  in  Dunkirk,  and  which  were  ready  to  embark  above 
30,000  veteran  troops.  As  the  duke  of  ]\Iedina-Sidonia  proceeded 
up  the  Channel,  he  lost  two  of  his  best  galleons ;  while  at  anchor 
before  Calais  eight  fireships  from  the  English  fleet  threw  his  into 
confusion :  all  endeavored  to  escape,  but  owing  to  the  darkness  of 
the  night  they  ran  one  against  another,  and  many  were  seriously 
damaged.  The  brave  Englishman  did  not  fail  to  take  advantage 
of  the  disaster :  an  action  followed,  in  which  ten  of  the  Spanish  ves- 
sels were  sunk,  destroyed,  or  compelled  to  surrender,  while  the  loss 
of  the  iLnglish  was  absolutely  nothing.  Well  might  the  duke  begin 
to  despair  of  success:  his  only  hope  lay  in  the  meditated  junction 
witli  i-arncsc,  but  that  junction  was  prevented  by  the  allied  English 
and  Dutch  fleet,  which,  from  the  vessels  being  so  much   lighter, 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  365 

1596 

could  venture  into  shallows  where  his  huge  and  useless  machines 
must  have  perished.  As  the  south  wind  blew  with  violence,  he 
could  not  retrace  his  voyage,  and  to  remain  where  he  was  would 
only  hasten  his  destruction.  He  was  even  now  sufficiently  in- 
clined— one  account  says  that  he  had  already  resolved — to  abandon 
the  enterprise,  and  he  steered  northwards :  he  was  not  so  desperate 
as  to  attempt  a  landing  on  the  English  coast  without  the  prince  of 
Parma,  for  whose  arrival  he  waited  for  some  time — the  English 
fleet  hovering  in  sight,  but  not  disposed  to  attack  him.  At  length 
he  gave  melancholy  orders  for  his  return,  and  as  the  wind  still 
raged  from  the  south,  as  besides  he  well  knew  that  reinforcements 
from  that  quarter  were  daily  reaching  his  enemy,  he  resolved  to 
return  by  coasting  the  northern  shores  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  But 
his  disasters  were  not  ended :  his  fleet  was  assailed  by  another 
storm,  and  many  vessels  were  engulfed,  some  dashed  to  pieces 
on  the  Norwegian,  others  on  the  Scottish,  coast.  Off  the  Irish 
coast  a  second  storm  was  experienced,  with  almost  equal  loss.  Had 
the  English  admiral  been  well  supplied  with  stores,  instead  of  being 
compelled  to  return  in  search  of  them,  not  a  vessel  would  ever  have 
revisited  Spain.  How  many  actually  perished  has  been  disputed, 
but  the  Spaniards,  who  fix  the  number  at  thirty-two,  are  probably 
right.  They  must,  however,  have  been  the  largest,  since  half  the 
soldiers  returned  no  more  and  most  of  the  noble  families  had  to 
mourn  a  lost  member.  On  this  trying  occasion  Philip  acted  with 
great  moderation :  he  ordered  extraordinary  care  to  be  taken  of  the 
survivors,  received  the  duke  of  jMedina-Sidonia  with  kindness,  ob- 
served that  no  human  prudence  or  valor  could  avail  against  the  ele- 
ments, and  caused  thanksgiving  to  be  made  that  any  of  his  subjects 
had  returned.  The  following  year  an  l^iglish  fleet  landed,  first  in 
Galicia,  where,  according  to  the  Si)anish  accounts,  the  loss  of  the 
invaders  was  i,ooo.  and  next  in  Portugal,  to  support  the  preten- 
sions of  tlie  prior  of  Crato,"  but  with  as  little  effect.  This  expedi- 
tion was  injudiciously  planned.  At  this  lime  the  authority  of 
I'hilip  in  Portugal  was  too  firm  to  be  shaken.  The  satisfaction 
which  he  felt  was  subsequently  alloyed  by  th.e  hostilities  of  his 
enemy  in  South  America  and  at  Cadiz.  In  the  former,  indeed,  his 
fleet  triumplicd,  but  in  1596  that  flourishing  seaport  was  taken  and 

-  F.iij^iiMi  hi-^torians  pass  very  .uenlly  i)\cr  tlic  failnre  of  this  expedition. 
Some  do 'not  cvon  condescend  to  notice  it.  Sec  the  corresponding  period  in  the 
liistory  of  Portugal. 


S66  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1597 

pillaged.  The  excesses  committed  on  this  occasion  by  the  EngHsh 
troops  under  the  earl  of  Essex  are  strongly  reprobated  by  the 
Spanish  historians.  The  insult  so  enraged  the  king  that  he  re- 
solved to  equip  an  expedition  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland,  where  he 
would  certainly  have  been  joined  by  the  disaffected  Catholics.  The 
fate  of  this  new  fleet,  however,  was  even  more  disastrous  than 
the  famous  one  of  1588:  it  was  assailed  by  so  furious  a  tempest  that 
forty  of  the  vessels  were  lost  and  the  rest  disabled.  The  severity  of 
this  second  blow  deterred  Philip  from  any  future  attempts  on  the 
most  hated  of  his  enemies. 

The  transactions  of  Philip  with  Portugal  will  be  best  re- 
lated in  the  section  devoted  to  the  modern  history  of  that 
kingdom.  It  is  here  sufficient  to  observe  that,  on  the  death  of 
Cardinal  Henrique  without  issue,  the  crown  was  claimed  by  the 
Castilian  monarch  in  right  of  his  mother;  that  though  there  were 
other  competitors,  of  whom  one  was  supported  by  England,  and 
though  the  Portuguese  themselves,  from  hatred  to  their  neighbors, 
armed  to  oppose  him,  his  forces  placed  him  on  the  throne  of  that 
country;  and  he  continued  to  fill  it  until  his  death.  This  ac- 
quisition, added  to  the  other  extensive  dominions  of  Philip,  ren- 
dered him  by  far  the  most  powerful  monarch  in  Europe. 

So  far  with  respect  to  the  foreign  transactions  of  Spain  under 
the  eventful  reign  of  this  monarch :  its  domestic  history  must  now 
be  noticed. 

The  revolt  of  the  Moriscos  occupies  a  remarkable  place  in  the 
native  annals  of  the  sixteenth  century.  These  Christianized  ]Moors 
still  remained  Mohammedans  at  heart,  and  though  they  attended 
at  mass,  they  made  amends  in  secret  for  this  compulsory  apostasy 
by  celebrating  the  rites  of  their  own  religion.  To  wean  them  from 
usages,  which,  however  innocent,  reminded  them  of  their  ancient 
faith  and  glory,  early  in  1567  a  decree  was  published  that  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Moriscos  should  frequent  the  Christian  church ;  that  the 
Arabic  should  cease  to  be  used  in  writing;  that  both  men  and 
women  should  wear  the  Spanish  costume ;  that  they  should  dis- 
continue their  ablutions ;  that  they  should  no  longer  receive  >\Ioham- 
medan  names,  and  that  they  should  neither  marry  nor  remove  from 
one  place  to  another  without  permission  from  the  proper  authori- 
ties. The  marquis  of  Mondejar,  captain-general  of  Granada,  who 
had  strongly  disapproved  the  royal  ordinance,  was  persuaded  to  lay 
the  protests  of  the  Moriscos  before  the  king.     The  result  was  a  re- 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  367 

1567-1568 

fusal,  which  so  irritated  this  people  that  a  general  revolt  was  planned. 
Its  chief  authors  were  Ferag  ben  Ferag,  descended  from  the  royal 
house  of  Granada,  and  Diego  Lopez  ben  Aboo.  Having  ascer- 
tained the  dispositions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Alpujarras,  where 
the  best  stand  could  be  made  against  the  royal  forces,  solicited  aid 
from  the  kings  of  northern  Africa,  and  persuaded  the  mountain 
banditti  to  embrace  their  cause,  the  evening  of  Christmas  Day  was 
fixed  for  the  general  rising.  With  the  romantic  view  of  restoring 
their  ancient  kingdom,  they  secretly  elected  in  Granada  a  sovereign, 
Fernando  de  Valor,  whom  they  named  Mohammed  Aben  Humeya, 
and  whose  family  was  of  royal  extraction.  The  new  king  was  im- 
mediately invested  wnth  a  scarlet  robe ;  four  banners,  pointing  to  the 
four  cardinal  points,  were  placed  on  the  ground ;  and,  while  kneel- 
ing on  these,  he  swore  that  he  would  defend  the  faith  of  the  prophet 
to  his  hour  of  death.  Homage  was  then  done,  and  fidelity  sworn, 
by  the  kneeling  chiefs,  who  ended  with  exalting  him  on  their 
shoulders,  exclaiming,  "  God  bless  Mohammed  Aben  Humeya,  king 
of  Granada  and  of  Cordova !  " 

This  bold  step  was  followed  by  other  measures  equally  secret 
and  vigilant.  We  can  allude  only  to  the  more  striking  scenes. 
From  Granada  Aben  Ferag  led  his  followers  into  the  Alpujarras, 
where  being  joined  by  the  IMonfis,  or  banditti  of  these  mountains, 
he  passed  from  place  to  place  to  sustain  the  insurrection.  At  the 
same  time  orders  were  given  by  Aben  Flumeya  to  massacre  all 
Christians  above  the  age  of  ten  years.  The  vengeance  of  these 
ferocious  apostates  fell  chiefly  on  the  priests  who  had  forced  them 
to  mass,  on  the  altars  and  images  which  they  had  been  taught 
to  venerate,  on  collectors  of  the  taxes,  and  the  oflicers  of  justice. 
At  Soportujar,  after  destroying  the  interior  of  the  church, — uni- 
formly the  first  object  of  their  assault, — they  seized  the  priests 
and  some  women  (the  rest  had  fled)  and  led  them  out  of  the  place 
to  be  put  to  death.  As  they  proceeded  the  ]Morisco  captain  ex- 
horted the  priest  to  confess  ]\Iohammed,  at  least  in  appearance,  since 
that  was  the  only  way  to  escape  the  fate  before  him.  He  replied 
that  he  was  resolved  to  die  for  tlie  love  of  Christ.  They  were  met 
by  Aben  Humeya,  who  had  pity — and  tin's  is  almost  a  solitary  in- 
stance— on  the  women,  but  ordered  tlie  ecclesiastics  to  be  slain. 
At  Conchar,  near  Poqueyra,  many  Christirms  took  refuge  in  a 
tower:  it  was  set  on  fire;  they  were  C(MiipelIed  to  descend  and  were 
consigned,  thirty-eight   in  number,   to  a  dreary  dungeon.      After 


368  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1568 

lying  there  nineteen  days,  persisting  in  their  refusal  to  apostatize, 
they  were  drawn  forth,  and  while  marching  to  the  place  of  execution 
were  encouraged,  by  two  ecclesiastics  of  their  number,  to  suffer  with 
courage  and  with  hope.  They  were  all  cut  down  and  their  corpses 
left  a  prey  to  dogs.  At  Portugus,  in  the  district  of  Ferreyra,  the 
terrified  Christians  ascended  the  tower  of  the  church :  as  usual,  fire 
was  set  to  it;  the  victims  descended,  were  seized,  their  hands  tied 
behind  them,  and  committed  to  prison.  In  most,  if  not  in  all  cases, 
attempts  were  made  to  convert  the  persons  thus  immured ;  in  al- 
most all,  to  the  honor  of  the  Spanish  character  be  it  spoken,  without 
success.  These  victims,  to  the  number  of  twenty-eight,  were 
drawn  from  the  prison  by  fours  and  put  to  death. 

Frightful  were  the  horrors  perpetrated  by  the  Moriscos  at 
this  period.  The  number  of  victims  cannot  be  estimated ;  it  proba- 
bly amounted  to  thousands.  They  are  among  the  truest  martyrs 
of  Spain :  far  worthier  of  the  title  than  the  mad  enthusiasts  of  Cor- 
dova, even  than  many  of  those  under  the  memorable  Roman  per- 
secutions. 

When  intelligence  of  these  events  reached  the  marquis  of 
Mondejar,  after  providing  for  the  defense  of  Granada  he  took  the 
field.  Aben  Humeya,  confiding  in  the  defiles  of  the  Alpujarras, 
prepared  to  receive  him,  while  another  band  of  the  rebels  placed 
themselves  in  opposition  to  the  marquis  de  losVelez  on  the  south- 
ern frontier  of  this  mountainous  district.  In  some  isolated  actions 
the  Moriscos  had  the  advantage ;  but  this  was  only  when  the  Chris- 
tians went  in  scattered  detachments,  and  were  consequently  subject 
to  surprise.  The  former  were  too  weak,  even  with  the  succor 
they  derived  from  Africa,  to  risk  a  general  engagement.  Fortress 
after  fortress  fell  into  the  power  of  the  royal  generals,  who  pursued 
the  enemy  into  the  depths  of  this  region.  An  event  which  now 
happened  in  the  fortress  of  Jubiles  made  a  deep  impression  on  the 
rebels,  and  contributed  more  than  any  other  cause  to  feed  the  flame 
of  civil  strife.  That  fortress  being  invested  by  the  marquis,  three 
aged  Moriscos  issued  from  it  with  the  banner  of  peace,  and  agreed 
to  its  surrender  on  the  condition  that  the  lives  of  the  garrison,  con- 
sisting of  300  men  and  1,500  women,  should  be  respected.  It  was 
accordingly  entered  by  the  royal  troops,  to  whom  the  plunder  was 
abandoned.  The  men  were  lodged  with  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town;  the  women  were  ordered  to  be  accommodated  in  tlie  church. 
As  that  edifice,  however,  would  contain  no  more  than  500,  the  re- 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  369 

1568 

maining  thousand  were  compelled  to  pass  the  night  in  the  square 
before  it.  Guards  were  posted  to  protect  them.  About  the  middle 
of  the  night,  one  of  the  soldiers,  being  enamored  with  a  young 
Morisca,  wished  to  detach  her  from  her  companions.  The  con- 
fusion produced  by  this  struggle  led  to  a  tumult ;  the  soldiers  rushed 
from  their  camp ;  it  was  proclaimed  that  many  armed  Moriscos  were 
disguised  among  the  prisoners,  and  in  the  fury  of  the  moment  the 
w^hole  number  were  pitilessly  massacred.  In  vain  did  the  marquis 
endeavor  to  stay  the  carnage:  the  authority  of  the  officers  was 
disregarded.  At  break  of  day  their  fury  cooled  and  gave  way  to 
remorse  on  perceiving  the  bloody  corpses  of  i,ooo  helpless,  unarmed 
women.  This  bloody  crime  will  never  be  blotted  from  the  minds 
of  men.^ 

The  tyranny  of  Aben  Humeya  somewhat  counterbalanced  the 
effect  which  this  terrific  tragedy  was  so  well  calculated  to  produce. 
First  Aben  Aboo  sought  and  obtained  pardon,  as  the  price  of  sub- 
mission. Even  Miguel  de  Rojas,  father-in-law  of  the  royal  Mo- 
risco,  opened  a  negotiation  for  the  same  end.  Informed  of  this 
circumstance,  Aben  Humeya  sent  for  his  father-in-law,  who,  on 
entering  his  quarters,  was  assassinated  by  the  guards.  He  next 
repudiated  his  wife,  put  to  death  several  of  her  relatives,  and  threat- 
ened the  same  fate  for  her  brother,  Diego  de  Rojas,  one  of  his  ablest 
adherents.  By  this  hasty  vengeance  he  naturally  estranged  many 
of  his  followers.  As  the  Christian  army  advanced  into  the  moun- 
tains he  was  compelled  to  flee  from  one  position  to  another,  but 
not  without  loss  to  his  pursuers.  But  such  were  the  excesses  of  the 
Christian  soldiers,  the  want  of  faith  which  characterized  some  of 
their  leaders,  and  the  rapacity  of  all,  that  no  reverses  could  make 
the  rebels  lay  dow^n  their  arms,  and  on  several  occasions  they  were 
enabled  to  inflict  a  suitable  revenge.  The  Moriscos  had  learned, 
to  their  cost,  that  even  when  conditions  of  capitulation  had  been 
proposed  and  accepted,  in  violation  of  their  terms  the  prisoners 
were  plundered  or  massacred.  It  was  asserted  that  no  faith  could 
be  placed  in  a  Christian's  word  or  bond,  and  the  report  naturally 
strengthened  the  bands  of  Aben  Humeya.  Nor  was  he  less  served 
by  tlie  dissensions  which  continued  between  the  Christian  chiefs: 
some  honorably  leaning  towards  mercy;  others,  in  revenge  for  the 
atrocities  which  have  been  described,  persisting  on  no  quarter.      So 

-  The  English  reader  may  be  informed  that  o  is  the  masculine  of  a,  the 
feminine  termination :  hence  Morisco  is  a  male,  Morisca  a  female  Moor. 


370  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1569 

great  was  the  indignation  produced  by  the  excesses  of  the  royal 
troops  that  several  districts  which  had  submitted  rebelled  anew, 
and  some  which  had  not  hitherto  declared  for  the  cause  now  has- 
tened to  support  it.  At  this  time  Aben  Humeya  was  at  the  head  of 
a  far  more  numerous  force  than  had  ever  yet  taken  the  field.  Em- 
boldened by  this  unexpected  good  fortune,  he  assembled  10,000 
men  at  Valor  and  marched  on  Verja  to  annihilate  the  marquis  de 
los  Velez.  At  Valor,  whither  the  marquis  de  los  Velez  penetrated, 
he  made  a  vigorous  stand,  but  notwithstanding  his  valor,  which 
was  never  perhaps  surpassed,  and  his  abilities,  which  were  of  a  high 
order,  he  was  signally  defeated  and  compelled  to  flee  almost  alone. 
This  disaster  was  partially  repaired  by  a  reinforcement  from  Africa, 
and  by  the  spirit  of  desertion  which  prevailed  in  the  camp  of  the  'i 
marquis.  His  own  conduct,  however,  continually  increased  the 
number  of  his  enemies.  He  had  long  distrusted  his  African  allies : 
he  now  removed  them  from  his  camp  to  the  frontier  of  Almeria, 
and  placed  them  under  the  command  of  Aben  Aboo,  his  cousin,  who 
had  again  joined  him.  Having  one  day  dispatched  a  letter  to 
Aboo,  whom  he  directed  to  march  with  the  Africans  on  a  point 
likely  to  be  assailed  by  the  Christians,  the  messenger  was  waylaid 
and  assassinated  by  the  creatures  of  the  incensed  rival,  Diego.  The 
latter  caused  another  letter  to  be  written  to  Aben  Aboo,  and  the 
handwriting  was  so  well  counterfeited  that  it  could  not  easily  be  de- 
tected :  its  purport  was  that  the  general  should  lead  the  Africans  to 
a  fortress  in  the  interior  and  put  every  one  to  death.  The  as- 
tonished Aben  Aboo  could  scarcely  believe  his  senses,  but  when  the 
artful  Diego  arrived  with  600  horse,  protesting  that  he  himself  was 
sent  to  assist  in  the  carnage,  all  doubt  vanished.  The  African 
chiefs  were  soon  acquainted  by  Diego  with  the  fate  which  had  been 
intended  for  them.  These  sons  of  the  desert  instantly  arose,  swore 
to  be  revenged,  acknowledged  Aben  Aboo  as  chief  of  the  Moriscos, 
and  dispatched  400  Africans,  with  the  newly-recognized  king  at 
their  head,  to  the  headquarters  of  Aben  Humeya.  As  they  were 
allies  they  were  suffered  to  pass  by  the  guards.  They  entered  the 
house,  seized  on  the  king,  and  bound  him,  notwithstanding  his  pro- 
testations of  innocence  and  devotion  to  the  cause.  During  the  night 
he  was  strangled,  and  Aben  Aboo  was  proclaimed  under  the  name  of 
Muley  Abdaila. 

The  first  act  of  tlie  new  king,  who  had  no  participation  in  the 
design  of  Diego  Alguazil,  was  to  besiege  Orguiva ;  but  the  place, 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  371 

1570 

after  a  heroic  defense,  was  relieved  by  a  reinforcement  from 
Granada.  The  war  now  raged  with  various  success ;  to  each  party 
the  loss  of  one  day  was  counterbalanced  by  the  gain  of  the  next, 
until  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  who  had  assembled  troops  on  every 
side,  again  took  the  field  in  person,  in  the  resolution  of  ending  the 
contest  by  more  vigorous  measures.  He  divided  his  army  into  two 
bodies,  one  of  which  he  intrusted  to  the  duke  of  Sessa,  while  with 
the  other  he  proceeded  to  reduce  the  mountain  fortresses.  One 
after  another  fell  into  his  hands,  but  cost  him  so  many  men  that 
he  was  compelled  to  suspend  his  operations  until  reinforcements 
arrived.  The  submission  or  rather  correspondence  of  Albaqui,  one 
of  Aluley's  ablest  generals,  with  those  of  Philip  greatly  facilitated 
the  progress  of  the  royal  arms.  To  prevent  another  insurrection 
after  submission,  the  inhabitants  of  the  newly  subdued  towns  were 
transplanted  to  other  parts,  generally  to  the  towns  of  Andalusia, 
a  few  into  New  Castile.  This  measure  contributed  more  than  any 
other  to  weaken  the  rebels  and  to  hasten  the  conclusion  of  the  war. 
Believing  that  mildness  might  now  be  tried  with  effect,  a  proclama- 
tion was  made  that  every  rebel  who  within  twent}'  days  should  visit 
the  Christian  camp  and  submit  should  be  freely  pardoned.  But 
power,  even  so  limited,  was  too  sweet  to  be  resigned,  and 
J^duley,  retreating  from  hill  to  hill,  made  pretense  of  desiring  peace 
only  to  gain  time  until  some  expected  succor  should  arrive  from  Bar- 
bary.  Not  so,  however,  with  the  other  chiefs,  who,  |)erceiving  that 
resistance  was  hopeless,  were  anxious  to  obtain  the  best  terms  they 
could :  in  their  name  Albaqui  proceeded  to  tlie  camp  of  Don  Juan, 
and  did  homage  to  him  as  the  reprcsentatix'e  of  tlicir  liege  sovereign. 
But  the  determination  to  transport  every  Morisco  from  the  kingdom 
of  Granada  again  forced  the  people  to  resistance.  They  took  ref- 
uge on  the  summits  of  precipices  and  did  what  miscliief  they  could 
to  their  pursuers.  It  was  sometimes  considerable,  a  circumstance 
which  ]\Iu]ey  readily  seized  to  exasperate  the  minds  of  his  people, 
and  to  inspire  them  with  hope.  Albaqui,  however,  still  passed  from 
one  camp  to  the  other,  with  tlie  view  of  completing  the  negotiations 
Vv'hich  had  been  commenced.  Seeing  the  obstinacy  of  Muley.  he 
entered  into  an  engagement  to  raise  400  men.  and  with  them  to 
deliver  the  king,  dead  or  alive,  into  the  hands  of  tlie  Christian 
general.  He  was  betrayed,  and  assassinated  by  order  of  Aluley, 
who  abruptly  broke  off  all  ccMnmtnn'calion  with  Don  Juan.  Hostil- 
ities accordingly  recommenced,  but  S"  much  to  the  disadvantngc  of 


372  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1568 

the  rebels  that  they  were  glad  to  take  refuge  in  the  deep  caverns 
with  which  these  mountains  abound.  Into  one  of  these  Muley 
threw  himself,  with  his  wife,  two  daughters,  and  about  sixty  follow- 
ers :  as  usual  the  royal  troops  made  a  fire  at  the  mouth,  with  a  view 
of  suffocating  such  as  refused  to  surrender.  All  perished,  except 
Muley  and  two  others,  who  were  acquainted  with  a  secret  issue 
from  the  place. 

As  the  whole  range  of  mountains  was  now  almost  depopulated, 
the  Moriscos  being  uniformly  transferred  to  other  parts,  and  as  but 
a  handful  of  desperate  adventurers,  most  of  whom  had  been  pro- 
fessed banditti,  remained,  the  chiefs  who  still  adhered  to  Muley 
now  advised  him  to  submit.  But  eventually  Muley  was  slain,  and 
with. him  was  extinguished  the  last  spark  of  the  rebellion. 

The  next  important  feature  in  the  domestic  administration  of 
Philip  is  the  fate  of  his  first-born  son,  Don  Carlos.  This  prince, 
who  was  born  in  1545,  was  by  nature  of  fiery  temperament  and  of 
irregular  manners.  In  his  seventeenth  year  he  sustained  an  acci- 
dent which  was,  doubtless,  the  chief  cause  of  all  his  misfortunes. 
One  day  while  at  the  university  of  Alcala  he  fell  headlong  down 
the  staircase,  and  was  for  some  time  stunned  by  the  blow.  As  no 
external  injury  was  visible,  his  medical  attendant  hoped  that  he 
would  soon  be  restored.  At  length,  being  discovered  in  an  attempt 
to  flee  into  the  Netherlands,  to  place  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
insurgents,  the  king  felt  that  he  should  be  compelled  to  do  what 
he  ought  to  have  done  long  before, — to  place  a  guard  over  his 
frenzied  son.  He  did  not,  however,  adopt  this  expedient  without 
the  advice  of  his  best  counselors.  On  the  night  of  January  19, 
1568,  accompanied  by  four  of  his  nobles  and  some  armed  guards, 
he  proceeded  to  the  prince's  apartment,  took  away  his  papers,  his 
sword,  knives,  and  everything  that  could  be  hurtful  to  him,  assuring 
him  at  the  same  time  that  he  had  no  end  in  view  beyond  his  good. 
He  confided  the  care  of  the  prince  to  six  gentlemen  of  the  noblest 
families  ol  Spain,  two  of  whom  were  always  to  be  with  him  night 
and  day,  and  he  placed  over  all  the  duke  de  Feria  and  the  prince 
de  Evoli.  This  measure,  however  well  intended,  did  no  good : 
Carlos  grew  sullen  and  obstinate,  his  freaks  more  frequent  and 
capricious.  At  length  he  fell  into  a  violent  fever.  His  better  feel- 
ings returned;  he  asked  for  his  father,  whose  pardon  he  humbly 
pleaded,  received  the  last  sacraments,  commended  his  soul  to  God, 
and  died  at  midnight,  July  24,  T568. 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  373 

1578-1598 

The  fate  of  this  maniac  prince  has  called  forth  much  affected 
commiseration,  inasmuch  as  it  has  enabled  malignity  to  assail  the 
memory  of  the  father.  It  has  been  stated  that  Philip  was  the  rival 
of  his  son  in  the  affections  of  a  German  princess:  that  after  she 
became  queen  of  Spain,  she  loved  the  latter  and  detested  the 
former;  that  jealousy  forced  the  king  to  the  most  tyrannical  treat- 
ment of  the  youth:  that  Carlos  was  persecuted  by  the  inquisition, 
and  at  length  poisoned  by  order  of  the  father.  Such  tales  are 
without  even  the  shadow  of  a  foundation,  in  contemporary  writers 
of  Spain,  or  even  in  common  sense.  The  truth  is  that  Philip  be- 
haved with  much  moderation  to  a  son  who  was  fit  only  for  an 
asylum. 

But  if  impartial  justice  acquit  Philip  of  guilt,  or  even  of  undue 
severity,  in  regard  to  his  son,  the  same  favorable  verdict  cannot  be 
given  in  regard  to  two  other  affairs  which  have  been  studiously 
wrapped  in  great  darkness :  they  were  the  assassination  of  Juan  de 
Escovedo,  secretary  to  Don  Juan  of  Austria,  and  the  subsequent 
persecution  of  Antonio  Perez,  Philip's  secretary  of  state.  The 
former,  who  had  been  sent  to  Spain  on  business  of  his  master,  was 
murdered  at  Madrid,  in  March,  1578.  The  assassins  were  not  un- 
known, but  they  were  suffered  to  escape  into  Italy,  and  were  after- 
wards employed  in  the  service  of  the  Neapolitan  viceroy.  That 
they  were  hired  by  Antonio  Perez  is  undoubted,  from  his  own  con- 
fession: but  what  interest  had  he,  what  revenge  to  gratify,  in  such 
a  crime?  The  same  confession — published  many  years  after  the 
tragedy — throws  the  entire  blame  on  the  king,  nor  is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  its  truth. 

Philip  died  in  September,  1598,  in  the  palace  of  the  Escurial, 
of  which  he  was  the  founder  and  which  is  the  noblest  monument 
of  his  reign.  His  character  must  be  sufficiently  clear  from  his 
actions :  that  it  was  gloomy,  stern,  and  cruel ;  that  he  allowed  neither 
civil  freedom  nor  religious  toleration,  but  was  on  all  occasions  the 
consistent  enemy  of  botli :  that  he  was  suspicious,  dark,  and  vindic- 
tive, are  truths  too  evident  to  be  denied.  I  lis  ambition  was  cer- 
tainly subservient  to  his  zeal  for  religion;  his  talents  were  consid- 
erable; for  prudence  he  was  almost  unrivaled;  his  attention  to  pub- 
lic affairs,  and  to  the  best  interests  of  Ins  country,  have  been  sur- 
passed bv  few  monarchs:  his  habits  were  regular,  his  temperance 
proverbial;  his  fortitude  of  mind,  a  virtue  which  he  liad  nfteti  oc- 
casion to  exercise,  was  admirable;  and,  in  general,  he  was  swayed 


374  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1598-1618 

by  the  strictest  sense  of  justice.  Even  his  reHgious  bigotry,  odious 
as  it  was,  was  founded  on  conscientious  principles,  and  his  arbitrary 
acts  on  high  notions  of  the  regal  authority.  By  many  of  his  sub- 
jects he  was  esteemed,  by  many  feared,  by  some  hated,  by  none 
loved. 

By  the  last  of  his  four  wives,  Anne  of  Austria,  Philip  left  a 
son,  who  succeeded  by  the  title  of  Philip  III. ;  his  other  male  chil- 
dren preceded  him  to  the  tomb.  Two  daughters  also  survived 
him. 

The  death  of  Philip  left  Spain  bordering  on  prostration,  both 
as  regards  her  industries  and  commerce,  necessarily  crippled  by 
the  unstable  status  of  the  country  and  in  the  dispirited  condition 
of  the  people  themselves,  after  long  sufferance  under  the  despot 
and  fanatic. 

The  two  preceding  reigns,  being  by  far  the  most  important  in 
the  modern  history  of  Spain,  have  commanded  a  corresponding 
share  of  our  attention.  But  as  with  Philip  II.  ends  the  greatness 
of  the  kingdom,  which  from  that  period  declined  with  fearful 
rapidity, — as  in  the  present  chapter  little  remains  to  be  recorded 
beyond  the  reign  of  worthless  favorites,  the  profligacy  of  courts, 
and  the  deplorable  weakness  of  government, — the  journey  before 
us  will  be  speedily  performed. 

The  first  courtier  to  whom  the  destinies  of  the  Peninsula  were 
confided  was  the  duke  of  Lerma ;  but  as  he  had  no  talents  either  for 
peace  or  war,  the  burden  of  administration  devolved  on  a  needy 
adventurer,  Rodrigo  Calderon,  one  of  his  pages.  In  his  domestic 
policy, — if  profligate  imbecility  deserve  the  name, — the  most  signal 
circumstance  is  the  expulsion  of  the  Moriscos  from  Valencia,  Anda- 
lusia, New  Castile,  and  Granada.  In  1609  orders  were  dispatched 
to  the  captains-general  to  force  the  Moriscos  on  board  the  galleys 
prepared  for  them,  and  land  them  on  the  African  coast.  Those  of 
Valencia,  150,000  in  number,  were  first  expelled;  they  were  fol- 
lowed, though  not  without  great  opposition,  nor  in  some  places 
without  open  resistance,  by  their  brethren  of  the  other  provinces. 
In  the  whole,  no  fewer  than  600,000  were  thus  forcibly  driven  from 
their  ancient  habitations,  omitting  the  mention  of  such  as,  by  as- 
suming the  disguise  of  Christians,  spread  over  Catalonia  and  south- 
ern France,  and  of  the  still  greater  number  of  children,  who,  being- 
born  from  Moriscos  and  hereditarv  Christians,  were  suffered  to 
remain.       Those   who   disembarked   in   Africa   were  treated   with 


HOUSE      OF      AUSTRIA  375 

1601-1621 

characteristic  inhumanity  by  the  most  cruel  and  perfidious  people 
on  earth. 

In  1618  the  duke  of  Lerma  was  disgraced,  and  the  real  min- 
ister, Don  Rodrigo  Calderon,  who  had  been  adorned  with  numerous 
titles,  was  imprisoned.  Subsequently  he  was  tortured,  tried,  and 
sentenced  to  death,  but  before  the  sentence  could  be  put  into 
execution  the  king  died.  Philip,  however,  ordered  him  to  the 
block.  The  removal  of  the  duke  only  made  way  for  another  as 
imbecile  and  worthless  as  himself.  So  that  the  king  was  not 
troubled  with  state  business,  but  allowed  to  have  his  women  and  his 
diversions,  to  provide  for  mistresses  and  parasites,  he  cared  not 
who  held  the  post  of  minister.  Towards  the  close  of  his  reign,  in- 
deed, he  appeared  to  take  some  interest  in  the  report  of  his  council, 
which, — with  the  view  of  encouraging  the  population,  now  alarm- 
ingly decreased,  and  restoring  the  national  industry,  now  almost 
expiring — suggested  some  salutary  expedients.  But,  though  he 
approved  the  proposed  measures,  he  had  not  the  rigor  to  carry 
them  into  effect. 

The  foreign  transactions  of  this  reign  would  be  too  unimpor- 
tant to  be  detailed  even  if  they  could  be  admitted  into  a  compen- 
dium like  the  present.  In  revenge  for  the  maritime  hostilities  of 
the  English,  an  expedition  was  sent  to  Ireland  to  raise  the  inhabi- 
tants against  the  government,  but  it  was  annihilated  at  Kinsale. 
In  the  Low  Countries  the  war  continued  with  little  glory  to  the 
Archduke  Albert  until  1609,  when  the  independence  of  the  Seven 
United  Provinces  was  acknowledged  by  treaty.  With  France 
there  was  continued  peace,  which,  in  161 2,  was  strengthened  by  the 
double  marriage  of  the  prince  of  the  Asturias  with  Isabelle  de 
Bourbon,  and  of  Louis  XIII.  with  the  infanta  Ana,  eldest  daughter 
of  the  Spanish  monarch.  With  the  Venetians,  Turks,  and  Moors 
of  Africa  there  were  some  engagements,  but  notliing  decisive  was 
the  result.  Spain  still  retained  the  duchy  of  Milan,  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  Sicily,  and  Sardinia,  and  the  fortresses  on  the  African 
coast.  Philip  died  March  31,  1621,  Besides  his  heir  and  Ana, 
queen  of  France,  he  left  children,  Maria,  queen  of  Hungary,  Don 
Carlos,  and  Don  Fernando,  who  entered  the  church  and  attained  the 
dignity  of  cardinal.  His  character  needs  no  description :  it  was 
cliielly  distingnislicd  for  heli)lcss  imbecility,  for  dissipation  and 
idleness.  Thougli  apparently  well  intentioned,  he  was  a  curse  to 
the  nation  he  governed. 


376  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1621 

Under  Philip  IV.  of  Spain  we  find  but  a  repetition  of  the 
mistakes  or  mischievous  neghgence  of  the  preceding  PhiHps.  The 
desperate  condition  of  the  country's  resources  received  httle  or  only 
contemptuous  attention  so  long  as  the  king's  own  coffers  were  full. 

When  the  new  king  ascended  the  throne  he  was  only  in  his 
seventeenth  year,  and  he  began,  like  his  father,  by  surrendering  the 
reins  of  government  to  a  worthless  favorite.  This  was  the  count 
of  Olivares,  who  had  been  a  gentleman  of  the  bedchamber  to  the 
prince  of  Asturias.  This  haughty  minion  commenced  his  career 
by  removing  from  the  ministry  his  benefactor,  the  duke  de  Uceda, 
and  by  recalling  the  valiant  Don  Pedro  Giron,  duke  of  Osuna,  from 
the  viceroyalty  of  Naples.  Whoever  had  ability,  or  popular  fame 
or  favor  with  the  king,  was  sure  to  experience  his  envy,  often  his 
deadly  persecution.  Every  servant  of  the  late  government  was  dis- 
missed or  imprisoned,  to  make  way  for  creatures,  if  possible,  more 
worthless.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  by  revoking  many  of  the 
profuse  grants  made  by  the  two  preceding  sovereigns,  by  dismissing 
two-thirds  of  the  locusts  in  office,  by  enforcing  the  residence  of 
many  sefiores,  by  sumptuary  regulations,  and  other  measures,  he 
increased  the  revenues  of  the  crown.  But  these  reforms  were  but 
temporary ;  the  minister  was  too  corrupt  to  persevere  in  any  line  of 
public  advantage;  his  object  was  his  own  emolument,  and  that  of  his 
creatures;  nor  would  he  have  so  much  as  touched  a  single  abuse 
had  not  the  voice  of  the  public  compelled  him  to  it.  When  he  had 
acquired  some  reputation  for  these  measures,  he  outstripped  even 
his  predecessors  in  the  race  of  corruption;  and,  what  is  still  worse, 
his  heart  was  as  depraved  as  his  aims  were  selfish.  How  little 
Spain  could  flourish  under  such  princes,  and  such  administrations, 
may  be  readily  conjectured.  In  its  internal  affairs  there  was  the 
same  gradual  decline  of  agriculture,  of  commerce,  of  the  mechanical 
arts,  and,  consequently,  of  the  national  resources;  yet,  while  the 
mass  of  the  people  were  thus  sinking  into  hopeless  poverty,  the 
court  exhibited  more  splendor  than  ever.  Thus,  the  reception  of 
Charles,  Prince  of  Wales,  and  of  his  tutor,  the  duke  of  Buckingham, 
— who,  with  the  view  of  obtaining  the  hand  of  the  infanta  IMaria, 
sister  of  the  king,  had  been  romantic  enough  to  visit  Madrid  in 
disguise, — is  a  favorite  subject  of  historic  description.  The  Eng- 
lish reader  need  not  be  told  that  this  prodigal  expenditure  was 
thrown  away,  and  that  Charles  ultimately  obtained  a  French  prin- 
cess.     One  cause  of  the  failure  was,  doubtless,  the  bigotrv  of  the 


HOUSE     OF     AUSTRIA  377 

1640-1660 

Spanish  court;  but  another,  and  no  mean  one,  was  the  profligacy 
of  Buckingham,  which  highly  disgusted  the  royal  family.  Still 
more  expensive  were  the  festivities  consequent  on  the  election  of  the 
king  of  Hungary — who  had  married  the  infanta  Maria,  sister  of 
Philip — to  be  king  of  the  Romans,  and  consequently  heir  to  the 
imperial  crown.  H  to  these  fooleries  we  add  the  money  sent  out 
of  the  kingdom  to  assist  the  German  emperor  in  the  wars  with 
Gustavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden,  we  shall  not  be  surprised  that  the 
whole  nation  beheld  the  conduct  of  Philip  and  his  minister  with 
discontent.  Murmurs  and  complaints  were  treated  with  contempt, 
until  the  Catalans  openly  opposed  the  flagitious  minister  and  the 
royal  puppet. 

The  profligate  extravagances  of  the  court  were  not  the  only 
cause  which  led  to  the  Catalan  insurrection.  At  the  close  of  a  war 
with  France — a  war  of  which  mention  will  hereafter  be  made — the 
Castilian  troops,  in  the  fear  that  hostilities  would  be  recommenced 
by  the  enemy,  were  stationed  on  the  northern  frontier,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  inhabitants,  on  whom  they  were  billeted.  This  regu- 
lation was  as  unjust  as  it  was  arbitrary,  and  even  odious.  If  to 
this  we  add  the  desire  which  the  minister  had  always  shown  to 
abolish,  or  at  least  to  violate,  the  privileges  of  the  principality,  and 
the  fact  that  Philip  himself  had  for  the  first  five  years  of  his  reign 
deferred  visiting  Barcelona  to  take  the  accustomed  oaths,  we  shall 
not  be  surprised  that  a  people,  fiercely  tenacious  in  all  ages  of  their 
reasonable  rights,  should  be  excited  to  a  very  high  pitch.  At  first, 
the  peasantry,  on  whom  the  burden  fell  with  the  most  severity, 
were  contented  with  expelling  their  unwelcome  inmates;  but,  when 
the  soldiers  resisted,  lives  were  lost  on  both  sides.  From  these 
scenes,  and  from  the  universal  hostility  of  the  Catalans  to  his  violent 
regulations,  Olivares  might  have  learned  something  useful,  but  he 
was  incapable  of  profiting  by  the  lessons  of  experience.  Ignorant 
of  the  indomitable  character  of  the  people,  he  sent  tlie  Duke  de  Car- 
dona,  successor  to  the  late  viceroy,  with  instructions  to  enforce  the 
obnoxious  measure.  The  duke  did  not  long  survive  his  nomina- 
tion, and  his  death  paved  the  way  to  greater  disasters.  The  depu- 
ties from  the  lordship  were  refused  admission  to  the  king,  and  the 
Marquis  de  los  Velez  was  sent  with  an  army  to  reduce  tlie  rebels  to 
obedience.  Convinced  that  of  themselves  they  should  be  unequal 
to  the  royal  forces,  they  implored  the  aid  of  the  French  king.  That 
aid  was  readily  promised,  but  as  it  did  not  immediately  arrive,  the 


3T8  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1640-1660 

whole  principality,  except  the  city  of  Tortosa,  armed.  This  was 
not  all.  Contending  that  the  king,  by  violating  their  ancient  privi- 
leges, had  broken  his  compact  with  them,  and,  consequently,  for- 
feited all  claim  to  their  obedience,  they  proclaimed  a  republic.  But 
as  the  marquis  had  quickly  reduced  several  important  fortresses, 
and  was  advancing,  breathing  revenge  on  the  capital,  the  new  re- 
public was  soon  destroyed  by  its  authors  and  Louis  XIII.  pro- 
claimed count  of  Barcelona.  Convinced  that  violence  was  not  the 
way  to  treat  the  fierce  Catalans,  the  marquis  obtained  from  the 
king  the  revocation  of  the  obnoxious  regulation,  and  a  letter,  dic- 
tated by  great  mildness,  and  by  paternal  regard,  calling  on  the 
people  to  renew  their  homage  to  their  liege  indulgent  lord.  After 
this  5,000  French  soldiers  passed  the  Pyrenees;  Tarragona,  which 
now  held  for  the  king,  and  in  which  all  the  royal  forces  were  con- 
centrated, was  invested,  but  after  a  time  relieved;  Castilian  rein- 
forcements arrived  to  make  head  against  the  enemy;  near  12,000 
French  came  to  assist  their  countrymen,  and  Louis  himself  ad- 
vanced to  the  frontiers  of  Roussillon  to  direct  their  operations.  At 
this  moment  Philip  intended  to  conduct  the  war  in  person,  and  he 
actually  left  Madrid  for  the  purpose  at  the  head  of  a  considerable 
force ;  but  at  Aranjuez  he  halted,  under  the  pretext  of  waiting  the 
arrival  of  Olivares,  who  was  in  no  hurry  to  join  him.  In  fact, 
neither  king  nor  minister  had  courage  enough  to  meet  the  enemy; 
the  former  waited  tranquilly  until  the  season  was  too  far  passed 
for  operation,  and  returned  to  jMadrid,  assuming  great  appearance 
of  anger  vrith  the  count.  In  the  meantime  the  French  armies  were 
activelv  gaining  several  important  advantages :  to  counterbalance 
them  Olivares  formed  a  conspiracy  in  the  very  heart  of  France  to 
assassinate  the  minister.  Cardinal  Richelieu,  and  even  to  dethrone 
Louis,  but  it  was  detected  and  its  prime  instrument  beheaded. 
Though  a  natural  death  soon  called  away  the  cardinal,  his  successor, 
]\Iazarin,  who  succeeded  also  to  his  ]\Iachiavelian  principles,  con- 
tinued the  war.  It  lingered  for  years,  with  various  success,  or 
rather  with  no  decided  success,  to  either  part,  until  the  inhabitants 
themselves  grew  tired  of  the  French  yoke  and  joined  with  their 
Castilian  brethren.  Whether  this  change  in  the  public  feeling  was 
ov\"ing  to  the  haughtiness  of  their  allies,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
intolerable,  or  to  the  inconsistency  of  the  popular  mind,  or  still 
more,  probably,  to  both  united,  fortune  at  length  began  to  favor  the 
arms  of  Phih'p.      Still  the  war  with  the  Netherlands  and  with  the 


HOUSE     OF     AUSTRIA  379 

1640-1665 

Portuguese,  to  which  alhision  will  shortly  be  made,  rendered  the 
Spanish  court  desirous  of  peace.  The  wish  was  shared  by  Alaza- 
rin,  whose  resources  were  nearly  exhausted  by  hostilities  of  so 
many  years'  continuance  and  in  so  many  countries.  In  1660  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  both  powers  met  at  St.  Jean  de  Luz,  and  the 
conditions  of  peace,  after  three  months'  deliberation,  were  sanc- 
tioned by  the  respective  monarchs.  By  other  articles  the  Catalans 
were  not  only  pardoned,  but  their  privileges  recognized  as  in- 
violable. But  the  most  remarkable  circumstance  attending  this 
celebrated  treaty,  usually  known  as  the  Treaty  of  the  Pyrenees,  was 
the  marriage  of  the  infanta  Maria  Teresa,  eldest  daughter  of  Philip, 
with  the  youthful  Louis  XIV.  On  this  occasion,  to  prevent  the 
union  of  two  such  powerful  kingdoms,  Louis  was  compelled  to  re- 
nounce all  claim  to  the  Spanish  crown,  either  for  himself  or  for  his 
successors.  That,  however  solemn  the  obligation  thus  contracted, 
he  had  no  disposition  to  fulfill  it,  will  abundantly  appear  from  the 
sequel ;  his  grandson,  as  we  shall  hereafter  perceive,  ascended  the 
Spanish  throne  under  the  title  of  Philip  V. 

Commensurate  with  the  origin  of  the  Catalan  insurrection  was 
that  of  Portugal.  As  this  is  not  the  proper  place  to  enter  into  an 
examination  of  the  causes  which  produced  or  the  circumstances 
which  attended  that  natural  burst  of  freedom,  we  defer  both  to  a 
future  chapter.  Here  it  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  the  discontented 
Portuguese,  despising  the  royal  puppet  at  ]\Iadrid,  and  burning 
with  an  intolerable  thirst  for  the  restoration  of  their  independence, 
proclaimed  the  Duke  of  Brag-anza  under  the  name  of  Joam  IV., 
and  tliat  in  several  campaigns  they  nobly  vindicated  the  step.  As- 
sisted by  their  allies  the  English,  Dutch,  and  French,  they  continued 
the  war  with  indomitable  valor  and  with  general  success  until  1664, 
wlien,  in  the  battle  of  Villaviciosa,  they  inflicted  so  severe  a  blow 
on  the  arms  of  Philip  that  he  precipitately  abandoned  hostilities. 
This  v/as  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  exile  of  Olivares  from 
the  court.  This  was  actually  done,  but  the  kingdom  experienced 
no  benefit  by  a  change  of  favorites. 

During  his  long  reign  Philip  was  frequently  at  war  with 
England,  Holland,  or  France.  The  former  dejirived  him  of  Ja- 
maica and  Dunkirk,  ravaged  tlie  neighborhood  of  Cadiz,  assisted 
the  Portuguese  in  their  efforts  for  independence,  anri  were  scniic- 
times  allied  with  the  other  powers  to  humble  him  still  more.  The 
Dutch  inflicted  dreadful  ravages  on  the  An:crican  coasts    and  sc- 


380  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1665-1667 

cured  immense  spoil.  France,  both  in  the  Low  Countries  and  Italy, 
extended  her  domains,  but  at  the  peace  of  the  Pyrenees  she  sur- 
rendered her  conquests  in  the  latter,  so  that  Milan,  as  well  as  Naples, 
still  remained  to  Spain. 

The  character  of  Philip,  who  died  in  1665,  needs  no  description. 
His  reign,  next  to  that  of  Roderic  the  Goth,  was  the  most  dis- 
astrous in  the  annals  of  Spain.  Omitting  the  distress  which  it 
brought  on  the  people,  and  the  horrors  of  the  Catalan  insurrection, 
the  loss  of  Roussillon,  Conflans,  a  part  of  Cerdafia,  Jamaica,  much 
of  the  Low  Countries,  and  above  all  Portugal,  and  his  recognition  of 
the  independence  of  the  Seven  United  Provinces,  are  melancholy 
monuments  of  his  imbecility.  A  still  worse  effect  was  produced  by 
the  frequent  reverses  of  his  arms  in  Italy  and  the  Low  Countries; 
reverses  which  encouraged  the  smallest  states  to  set  his  power  at 
defiance :  thus,  both  in  the  East  Indies,  and  on  the  coast  of  America, 
his  settlements  were  plundered  or  seized  by  Holland.  In  private  life, 
his  conduct  was  as  little  entitled  to  respect :  by  his  mistresses  he 
had  six  or  seven  children,  of  whom  the  most  famous  was  Don  Juan, 
surnamed  of  Austria,  believed  to  be  the  son  of  an  actress  of  Madrid, 
and  born  in  1629. 

Of  Philip's  numerous  offspring  by  his  two  queens,  Isabella, 
daughter  of  Henry  IV.  of  France,  and  Maria  Anna,  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  Ferdinand  III.,  three  only  survived  him,  Maria  Teresa, 
queen  of  France,  Margarita,  queen  of  Hungary,  and  his  successor, 
Don  Carlos. 

On  Don  Juan  had  been  lavished  the  choicest  favors  of  the 
crown,  and,  indeed,  the  affection  of  his  father's  subjects.  The 
jealousy  of  the  queen  mother  was  the  natural  result  and  undoubt- 
edly the  true  source  of  the  dissensions  which  afflicted  the  state 
during  the  reign  of  Carlos,  1665  to  1700. 

The  affairs  of  the  kingdom,  so  unfortunate  during  the 
reigns  of  the  two  Philips,  were  not  likely  to  improve  under 
a  child  who  at  his  accession  had  not  attained  his  fourth  year, 
especially  as  Don  Juan,  the  favorite  of  the  nation,  was  at  open 
hostility  with  the  queen-regent  and  her  confessor,  the  Father 
Nitard,  a  German  Jesuit.  This  churchman  is  represented  as 
haughty  to  the  nobles,  supple  to  the  queen,  and  in  his  general  con- 
duct corrupt;  but  as  the  representation  comes  from  men  ahva}S 
jealous  of  foreigners,  it  must  be  received  with  caution.  An  un- 
biased mind  will  easily  perceive  that  his  chief  fault  was  the  un- 


1)0.-;      DIFCO      KoDRKirKZ       |,\       -||.\\      \  l-.I.  \ -ii  I    K/.      . 
uK     I'll  11.11'     l\' 
(I'.i.ni      I  5., I).         |)i\M      i(,(Hi) 


I;!'      i'M.NTKU 


HOUSE     OF     AUSTRIA  381 

1667-1675 

bounded  power  he  exercised  through  the  queen.  The  disasters 
which  befell  her  administration  added  to  the  popular  discontent. 
Though  the  perfidious  Louis  had  disclaimed,  both  for  himself  and 
his  successors,  all  title  to  the  Spanish  possessions,  one  of  his  first 
acts  after  his  marriage  was  to  assert,  in  right  of  his  queen,  a 
monstrous  pretension  to  the  Low  Countries.  The  French  monarch 
poured  his  legions  over  the  frontier,  and  with  great  rapidity  reduced 
most  of  the  fortresses  from  the  Cliannel  to  the  Scheldt.  At  his  in- 
stigation the  Portuguese  made  an  irruption  into  Estremadura.  The 
union  of  Sweden,  Holland,  and  England,  to  oppose  the  ambition  of 
the  Frenchman,  saved  the  whole  Netherlands  from  subjugation; 
but  by  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  he  retained  the  most  valuable 
of  his  conquests,  and  by  that  union,  which  thus  saved  a  portion  of 
her  northern  possessions.  Spain  was  compelled  to  acknowledge  the 
independence  of  Portugal, 

Of  these  disastrous  circumstances  advantage  was  taken  by  Don 
Juan  of  Austria,  who  had  been  exiled  from  the  court,  to  load  both 
the  queen  and  her  confessor,  now  a  counselor  of  state,  with  in- 
creased obloquy.  During  the  flagitious  career  of  the  French  the 
voice  of  the  Spaniards  proclaimed  him  as  the  only  man  fit  to  sup- 
port the  sinking  fortunes  of  the  monarchy:  to  remove  him  from 
their  attachment,  and  from  his  own  intrigues,  he  had  been  noni- 
inated  governor  of  the  Low  Countries,  but  he  had  no  wish  for  the 
dignity.  He  felt  that  in  Spain  he  was  strong  by  the  popular  favor, 
and  knew  that  at  a  distance  his  influence  would  be  annihilated. 
He  therefore  renewed  his  intrigues,  artfully  uniting  the  cause  of  the 
people  with  his  own,  and  at  length  compelling  the  court  to  invest 
him  with  the  government  of  Aragon,  Catalonia,  Valencia,  the 
Balearic  Isles,  and  Sardinia.  The  following  years  he  passed  in 
sovereign  state  at  Saragossa  silently  watching  the  course  of  events 
which,  as  he  had  anticipated,  were  of  the  same  adverse  character  to 
the  nation.  France,  true  to  her  career  of  spoliation  in  all  ages,  in 
1672  invaded  Holland,  now  the  ally  of  Spain,  with  100,000  men: 
to  such  a  host  resistance  was  vain,  and  most  of  the  country  was 
seized  by  the  invaders.  Spain,  like  England,  (icnnany,  and  other 
states  who  confederated  to  arrest  the  daring  progress  of  Louis,  flcw 
to  the  assistance  of  her  prostrate  ally,  and  immediately  afterwards 
declared  war  against  France.  As  usual,  the  advantage  turned  in 
favor  of  the  stronger  party.  In  Burgundy.  iM-anche-Comte,  which 
Spain  had  inherited  in  right  of  the  ancient  dukes  of  that  province. 


382  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1S75-1680 

was  conquered,  and  some  destructive  inroads  were  made  into  Cata- 
lonia ;  the  few  fortresses  remaining  to  the  Spanish  monarch  in  the 
Low  Countries  were  threatened,  one  or  two  actually  reduced,  and 
Messina,  in  Sicily,  was  instigated  by  the  enemy  to  rebel.  In  1675 
Don  Juan  was  ordered  to  pass  over  to  that  island,^  but  as  the  royal 
majority  was  at  hand  wlien  the  regent's  term  of  authority  would 
expire,  he  hoped  that  he  should  be  called  to  the  ministry,  a  result 
for  which  h.is  friends  were  actively  disposing  the  king.  The  very 
day  of  that  majority  he  was  at  Madrid:  he  was  admitted  to  the 
presence  of  Carlos;  the  public  joy  was  great,  but  in  a  few  moments 
it  was  clouded  by  disappointment,  when  intelligence  was  spread 
that,  through  the  arts  of  the  queen,  he  had  been  suddenly  ordered 
to  leave  Madrid.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  his  own 
presumption  hastened  this  disgrace,  for  he  had  insisted  on  being 
acknowledged  as  infante  of  Castile,  and  consequently  as  collateral 
heir  to  the  monarchy.  The  queen  triumphed  the  more  as  her  son 
was  as  imbecile  in  mind  as  he  was  sickly  in  body,  and  as  with  her 
alone  would  continue  the  affairs  of  administration.  But  her  tri- 
umph was  transient :  the  creatures  of  Don  Juan  became  more 
numerous  and  clamorous.  The  torrent  became  too  strong  to  be 
stemmed  even  by  her.  She  resolved  to  derive  merit  from  necessity, 
for  knowing  that  Don  Juan  was  preparing  to  leave  Saragossa  for 
Madrid,  she  not  only  suffered  her  son  to  command  his  immediate 
presence,  but  she  herself  wrote  in  the  same  strain.  At  his  approach 
Carlos  retired  to  another  palace,  ordering  his  mother  not  to  leave 
the  one  she  inhabited,  and  dispatched  the  archbishop  of  Toledo  to 
Plita  to  welcome  his  brother.  The  power  of  Juan  was  now  un- 
bounded, while  Maria  Anna's,  notwithstanding  her  efforts  to  re- 
cover the  royal  favor,  was  circumscribed  to  her  own  household. 
Juan  was  affectionately  received  by  the  king  and  was  declared 
prime  minister. 

The  administration  of  Don  Juan  was  no  less  deplorable  tlian 
that  of  the  regent  whom  he  had  criminally  supplanted.  Occupied 
in  the  cares  of  vengeance,  or  in  providing  for  his  creatures,  he 
leeijly  opposed  the  victorious  progress  of  Louis.  Valenciennes, 
Camljray,  St.  Omer's,  and  other  places  were  speedily  reduced : 
Ypres  and  Ghent  were  assailed  with  equal  success,  and  Puicerda,  on 
the  Catalan  frontier,  yielded  about  the  same  time  to  another  French 

4  ]n  three  years  the  rebellion  subsided  of  itself,  the  inhabitants  of  Messina 
being  glad  to  escape  from  the  yoke  of  Louis  by  returning  to  their  obedience. 


HOUSE     OF     AUSTRIA  383 

1680-1697 

army.  Most  of  these  places,  however,  were  restored  at  the  peace  of 
Nimeguen,  of  which  the  most  unpopular  condition  was  that  Carlos 
should  receive  the  hand  of  the  Princess  Marie  Louise,  niece  of  the 
French  king.  That  nation  had  always  been  regarded  with  jealousy, 
and  was  now  hated,  by  the  Spaniards.  Juan  did  not  live  to  witness 
the  solemnization  of  the  nuptials.  The  ill-success  of  his  govern- 
ment, his  haughty  behavior  towards  the  grandees,  his  persecution 
of  such  as  belonged  rather  to  their  country  than  to  his  party,  and 
his  tyranny  even  over  the  king  rendered  him  not  merely  unpopular, 
but  odious.  In  this  state  mental  anxiety  put  an  end  to  his  life  at 
the  moment  his  enemies  were  preparing  to  hasten  his  downfall. 
The  queen-dowager  returned  to  court,  not  indeed  to  resume  her  an- 
cient influence,  but  to  assist  in  multiplying  intrigues,  and  conse- 
quently the  perplexities  of  her  imbecile  son. 

From  the  accession  of  the  third  Philip  the  decline  of  Spain  had 
been  sensible  to  every  observer;  it  was  now  amazingly  rapid.  Her 
destinies  were  no  longer  confided  to  men  even  of  ordinary  abilities, 
but  to  mere  courtiers — to  courtiers,  too,  noted  even  among  that 
class  for  helpless  ignorance,  for  insatiable  avarice — who  fluttered  in 
their  gewgaw  colors,  or  trifled  in  their  puerile  diversions,  or,  wliat 
is  worse,  interfered  with  matters  which  not  one  of  them  was  capiible 
of  comprehending.  Of  the  Duke  de  ]\Iedina  Celi,  the  Condes  de 
Alonterey,  Oropesa,  Melgar,  the  Dukes  de  Sessa  and  Infantado, 
and  the  other  ministers,  whom  intrigue  raised  to  the  diflicult  post, 
one  or  two  indeed  were  not  without  a  })ortion  of  talent,  but  tliey  had 
neither  the  caution  nor  the  honesty  to  efi^ect  any  good.  To  these 
internal  distresses  must  be  added  extraordinary  inflictions  of  Provi- 
dence— hurricanes,  inundations,  conflagrations,  which  were  fre- 
quent both  in  the  present  and  the  preceding  reign.  In  one  of  these 
visitations  Seville  was  nearly  ruined,  in  otliers  the  shi])ping  was 
destroyed  in  the  ports,  the  corn  spoiled  in  the  fields,  whole  streets 
were  on  fire,  the  loss  of  life  was  severe.  The  foreign  affairs  of 
the  kingdom  were  not  more  enviable.  Omitting  the  detail  of  ob- 
scure wars, — obscure  at  least  to  the  Spaniards. — which  almost  uni- 
formly turned  to  their  prejudice,  on  the  death  of  3ilarie  Louise,  i!i 
16S9,  the  French  monarch  again  poured  the  storm  of  war  over  t!ic 
frontier  of  Catalonia.  What  most  heightened  his  resentment  was 
the  immediate  marriage  of  the  widowed  Carlos  with  a  princess  of 
the  house  of  Austria ;  to  the  house  he  had  always  been  a  mortal 
encmv,  and  he  feared  lest  the  king,  who    was    hitherto    childless, 


384  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1697-1699 

should  at  length  have  an  heir.  For  some  time,  indeed,  the  efforts 
of  the  invaders,  owing  to  their  insignificant  numbers,  were  often 
repulsed  or  neutralized  by  subsequent  reverses,  but  in  1691  Urgel 
was  taken  by  the  Duke  de  Noailles;  Barcelona  and  Alicante  were 
severely  bombarded  by  sea.  Two  years  afterwards  Palemos  and 
Rosas  capitulated;  the  following  year  the  Spaniards  were  defeated 
in  a  considerable  battle ;  the  victors  took  Gerona ;  Hostalric  and 
other  places  followed  the  example,  and  Barcelona  itself  was  threat- 
ened. After  a  short  suspension  of  hostilities  Barcelona  fell  into 
the  power  of  Vendome,  Spain  trembled  to  her  most  distant  ex- 
tremities, and  she  could  scarcely  believe  in  the  reality  of  her  good 
fortune  when,  at  the  peace  of  Ryswick,  in  1697,  Louis  restored  all 
his  conquests.  She  w-as  too  much  confounded  by  this  display  of 
magnanimity  to  divine  the  cause ;  yet  that  cause  was  not  insufficient. 
From  his  niece,  Louise  de  Bourbon,  the  French  monarch  had  learned 
to  suspect  the  impotency  of  Carlos ;  the  sterility  of  the  recent  mar- 
riage confirmed  the  suspicion;  and  as  he  aspired  in  consequence  to 
place  a  prince  of  his  family  on  the  throne  of  Castile,  he  did  not  wish 
to  diminish  the  value  of  the  inheritance  by  its  dismemberment. 

In  1698  the  health  of  Carlos,  which  had  always  been  indiffer- 
ent, began  so  visibly  to  decline  that  all  hope  of  issue  was  abandoned. 
On  his  demise  three  chief  claimants  could  aspire  to  his  throne: 
First,  the  dauphin  of  France,  as  the  eldest  son  of  Maria  Teresa,  eld- 
est daughter  of  Philip  IV.  Second,  the  Emperor  Leopold,  who  not 
only  descended  from  Ferdinand,  brother  of  Charles  V.,  but  whose 
mother  was  the  daughter  of  Philip  III.  Third,  the  electoral  prince  of 
Bavaria,  whose  mother  was  the  only  daughter  of  the  infanta  INIar- 
garita,  a  young  daughter  of  Philip  IV.  Of  these  claims,  that  of  the 
dauphin  was  evidently  the  strongest,  since  his  mother  was  the  eldest 
sister  of  Carlos.  It  is  true  that  she  had  renounced  for  her  issue 
all  claim  to  the  crown  of  Spain,  but  this  renunciation  had  been  de- 
manded by  the  Spaniards  from  a  fear  lest  the  two  crowns  should 
fall  on  the  same  brow.  To  such  a  union  Europe  would  never  ha\'e 
consented;  and  the  objection  was  almost  equally  strong  to  the  union 
of  Spain  with  Germany.  Hence  the  hostility  to  the  pretensions 
both  of  the  dauphin  as  heir  of  the  French  monarchy  and  of  the 
Emperor  Leopold,  Hence,  too,  the  celebrated,  and  infamous  as  cele- 
brated, treaty  of  partition,  which,  in  October,  1698,  was  signed  at 
the  Hague  by  the  plenipotentiaries  of  England,  Holland,  and 
r>ance.      By  it  Naples  and  Sicily,  with  Guipiscoa,  San  Sebastian, 


HOUSE     OF     AUSTRIA  385 

1699-1700 

and  Fuentarabia,  were  ceded  to  the  dauphin,  Spain  and  the  Indies 
to  the  prince  of  Bavaria,  while,  for  the  third  party,  Charles,  second 
son  of  Leopold  and  the  representative  of  his  rights,  Milan  only  was 
reserved.  The  death  of  the  Bavarian  prince  destroyed  this  beau- 
tiful scheme  of  spoliation;  but  its  authors  did  not  long  delay  in 
framing  another,  which  gave  Spain,  the  Indies,  and  Netherlands 
to  Charles,  and  which  amplified  the  original  portion  of  the  dauphin. 
But  Louis  had  no  intention  to  renounce  the  splendid  inheritance; 
if  he  could  not  procure  it  for  the  dauphin,  or,  which  would  ulti- 
mately be  the  same,  for  the  eldest  son  of  the  dauphin,  there  was  a 
second  son,  Philip,  duke  of  Anjou,  who  would  be  less  the  object  of 
jealousy  to  the  European  powers.  With  the  same  view,  Leopold 
was  willing  that  his  own  rights,  and  those  of  his  eldest  son,  should 
devolve  on  the  Archduke  Charles,  the  youngest.  Both  princes  sent 
their  emissaries  to  the  court  of  Carlos,  to  besiege  his  sick-bed  and 
to  procure  a  testamentary  declaration  in  favor  of  their  respective 
pretensions. 

Before  the  signature  of  this  important  act,  the  health  and 
strength  of  the  king  had  visibly  declined ;  in  fact  he  exhibited  in 
himself  a  mere  shadow  of  existence.  His  deplorable,  and  as  it  ap- 
peared, extraordinary  state,  one  alike  of  pain,  of  mental  vacuity, 
and  even  of  half  consciousness,  gave  rise  to  a  report  that  he  was  be- 
witched. An  insurrection  of  the  populace, — owing  to  a  scarcity 
of  bread, — who  advanced  with  fury  to  the  palace  and  insisted  on  his 
appearing  at  the  balcony,  gave  increased  celerity  to  his  disease.  He 
now  prepared  for  his  end;  appointed  a  council  of  regency,  headed  by 
Cardinal  Portocarrero,  until  the  Duke  d' Anjou  should  arrive  in 
Spain;  and  on  November  i,  1700,  bade  adieu  to  his  worldly  sor- 
rows, after  one  of  the  most  disastrous  reigns  on  rec(n-d.  His  char- 
acter needs  no  description,  it  is  but  too  apparent  from  the  preceding 
relation.  Justice,  however,  requires  us  to  say  that,  though  in  his 
best  days  his  imbecility  was  helpless  and  hopeless,  this  was  his 
misfortune,  not  his  fault,  and  that  his  heart  was  right. 


Chapter    XV 

HOUSE    OF   BOURBON.     1 700-1 788 

THE  choice  of  Philip,  however  umbrageous  to  England, 
Holland,  or  Germany,  was  not  only  the  most  legitimate, 
but  the  best  that  could  have  been  made.  If  he  was  young 
(b.e  was  only  seventeen),  his  rival,  Charles,  was  the  same;  if  a 
renunciation  of  the  throne  had  been  made  by  his  grandmother,  so 
had  it  also  by  the  maternal  ancestor  of  the  archduke.  In  this  re- 
spect, therefore,  the  two  rivals  stood  on  equal  terms,  but  in  every 
other  the  advantage  lay  with  the  French  prince.  In  the  first  place, 
he  was  the  only  legal  heir  in  the  strict  order  of  descent:  in  the 
second,  his  accession  v/as  expressly  intended  to  preserve  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  monarchy,  which  Charles  would  not  have  scrupled  to 
dismember:  in  the  third,  as  the  balance  of  European  power  was 
the  first  object  of  the  various  states,  his  accession  to  the  French 
throne  was  far  more  remote  than  that  of  his  rival  to  the  imperial. 
But  to  England  and  Holland,  the  able,  ambitious,  and  neighboring 
Louis  was  more  formidable,  and  far  more  hateful,  than  the  mild 
and  distant  Austrian.  They  feared  that  the  resources  of  Spain  and 
France  would  henceforth  be  wielded  by  the  same  hand ;  that  Louis, 
who  by  his  unaided  arms  had' obtained  such  successes  in  the  Low 
Countries,  notwithstanding  the  opposition  of  the  chief  powers  of 
Europe,  would  now  be  resistless ;  that  the  iron  barrier  of  fortresses 
between  France  and  Holland  would  be  forever  thrown  down,  and 
that  in  consequence  the  maritime  republic  would  inevitably  become 
a  province  of  France.  But  neither  \Mlliam  of  Orange  nor  the 
states  of  Holland  had  much  acquaintance  either  with  the  Spanish 
people  or  with  human  nature.  Both  refused  to  acknowledge 
Philip  until  Louis,  by  a  brilliant  campaign  into  the  Low  Countries. 
terrified  the  latter  into  the  recognition,  when  the  former,  too  feeble 
to  stand  alone,  followed  the  example.  Neither,  however,  had  any 
intention  of  being  bound  by  the  compulsory  concession.  As  to  the 
Emperor  Leopold,  loudly  denouncing  the  will  of  Carlos  as  a  forgery 


HOUSE     OF    BOURBON  387 

1701 

or  at  least  extorted  during  the  absence  of  reason,  he  prepared  for 
hostilities.  Though  ]\lilan  and  Naples  had  acknowledged  Philip, 
he  knew  that  in  both  he  had  many  partisans,  and  if  he  could  not 
shake  the  throne  of  his  rival  in  Spain,  he  hoped  to  appropriate  these 
Italian  possessions. 

The  reception  of  Philip  by  his  new  subjects  was  as  gratifying 
as  he  could  have  wislied.  His  grave,  even  melancholy,  exterior 
was  well  adapted  to  their  taste,  and  his  religious  feeling,  his  general 
decorum,  his  moral  principles,  and  habits  were  not  likely  to  lose 
their  influence.  But  his  good  qualities  were  rather  passive  than 
active;  he  was  formed  not  to  impel,  but  to  receive  an  impulse  from 
others,  and  his  constitutional  indolence — an  indolence  unexampled 
even  among  kings — made  him  prefer  being  the  dupe  of  the  inter- 
ested rather  than  take  the  trouble  to  think  and  act  for  himself. 
It  was,  therefore,  evident  that  he  would  be  the  slave  of  his  confi- 
dential favorites,  and  with  Louis,  who  knew  him  well,  the  choice  of 
these  w^as  matter  of  great  moment.  As  Cardinal  Portocarrero  had 
been  so  instrumental  in  the  nomination  of  the  Due  d'Anjou,  and 
as  he  had  uniformly  exhibited  great  devotion  to  the  French  court. 
he  vjsls  invested  by  Louis  with  the  chief  direction  of  affairs ;  and 
three  French  nobles  were  placed  about  the  young  king's  person, 
ostensibly  to  assist  him  w^ith  their  councils,  but  in  reality  to  control 
both  him  and  every  Spaniard  wlio  should  attempt  to  weaken  the 
influence  of  the  Grand  ^Monarch.  Tlic  clioice  of  a  wife  was  no  less 
an  object  of  anxiety:  it  fell  on  a  princess  of  Savoy,  a  lady  of  mild 
habits,  and  no  more  than  fourteen  years  of  age — one  who  seemed 
to  be  excellently  fitted  for  passive  obedience.  To  prevent  her  cor- 
respondence w'ith  the  court  of  Turin,  on  laiuling  at  Figueras  she 
was  deprived  of  all  her  native  domestics;  nor  v;as  any  one  of  her 
suite  suffered  to  attend  h.er  except  tlie  Princess  Orsini.  as  her 
camarera  viayor,  or  superintendent  of  her  household.  As  this  lady 
would  probably  exercise  much  inlluencc  over  the  queen,  and 
through  the  queen  over  the  king  and  government,  she  liad  been 
selected  with  o-reat  caution.  T^.v  birth  she  was  French,  of  the  illus- 
trious  family  of  La  Treniouillc.  Her  first  husband  was  Adrian 
Plaise  de  Tallevrand.  prince  of  r'hnlais.  with  whrMU  she  had  passed 
some  years  in  Spain  ;  ber  second,  whom  she  had  married  in  Italy, 
and  with  whom  she  had  s{)cnt  sonic  years  at  Rome  and  Versailles, 
was  Flavio  d'Orsini,  &i\Vc  of  r.racci.-uio  and  grimdce  of  Spain  — 
a  match  for  winch  s!ic  was  indebted  to  the  good  offices  of  two 


388  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1701-1702 

French  cardinals.  Her  intimacy  with  Madame  de  Maintenon 
proved  of  singular  service  to  her  ambition,  after  her  husband's 
death.  A  Frenchwoman  herself,  indebted  to  France  for  her 
present  fortune  and  her  hopes  of  greater,  acquainted  with  the 
Spanish  language,  society,  and  manners;  possessing  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  the  world,  a  fascinating"  manner,  an  intellect  at  once 
penetrating  and  supple,  she  appeared  admirably  adapted  for  the  pur- 
pose of  Louis.  Hence,  after  receiving  minute  instructions  for  her 
conduct,  she  was  placed  with  the  young  queen,  to  whom  she  soon 
became  necessary,  and  over  whom  her  influence  was  unbounded. 

While  Philip  remained  with  his  new  queen  at  Barcelona,  he 
opened  the  Cortes  of  Catalonia.  His  reason  for  convoking  that 
assembly  was  the  hope  of  a  considerable  donation,  perhaps,  of  a 
supply  sufficient  to  meet  the  war  which  his  rival,  the  Archduke 
Charles,  was  preparing  to  wage  on  his  Italian  possessions.  The 
province  had  never  been  well  affected  to  the  dominion  of  Castile; 
its  fiieros  had  been  the  sport  of  the  Austrian  monarchs ;  the  abuses 
under  which  it  had  long  suffered  required  removal;  its  spirit  of 
liberty  was  unconquerable.  From  this  province  Philip  was  ex- 
pected to  return  to  Madrid,  but  in  the  belief  that  the  wavering 
loyalty  of  the  Neapolitans  and  Milanese, — in  the  former  a  con- 
spiracy had  broken  out  for  Charles,  but  was  soon  suppressed, — 
would  be  confined  by  his  presence,  he  resolved  to  pass  over  into  Italy. 
During  his  absence  he  left  the  queen  regent  of  the  kingdom,  direct- 
ing her  on  her  return  to  the  capital  to  hold  the  Cortes  of  Aragon. 
They  were  accordingly  opened  at  Saragossa,  but  she  found  the 
assembly  actuated  by  the  same  spirit.  The  despotism  in  which 
she  and  her  French  advisers  had  been  nurtured  was  shocked  that 
the  states  should  begin  not  with  voting  the  subsidy,  but  with  dis- 
cussing privileges ;  the  money  was  expected  to  be  humbly  laid  at  her 
feet;  rights  were  afterwards  to  be  conceded  or  confirmed  at  the 
good  pleasure  of  the  sovereign.  As  the  queen's  presence  in  Aladrid 
was  urgent,  she  at  length  consented  to  suspend  the  disputes  of 
privileges,  and  to  prorogue  the  assembly  until  the  return  of  the 
king,  but  not  until  100,000  crowns  had  been  voted  to  him.  Leav- 
ing this  noble  people,  she  hastened  to  Madrid,  where,  though  she 
could  not  be  received  better,  she  might  at  least  hope  that  the  forms 
of  freedom  would  offer  no  obstacle  to  her  authority. 

But  if  through  the  gradual  usurpation  of  the  crown,  especially 
under  the  iron  despotism  of  the  Austrian  princes,  Castile  had  no 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  389 

1701-1702 

longer  a  legislative  check  on  the  royal  conduct,  her  sons  were  still 
high-minded,  proud  of  their  ancient  glories,  and  inclined  to  resist 
any  infringement  of  established  customs :  above  everything  they 
wevQ  inimical  to  foreign,  especially  to  French,  influence,  and  they 
soon  showed  that  if  the  threatened  attack  on  the  monarchy  ren- 
dered them  the  allies,  they  would  never  be  the  tools  of  Louis.  After 
the  novelty  of  their  situation  had  passed  away,  they  were  at  no 
pains  to  conceal  their  contempt  for  the  profound  ignorance,  or  their 
hatred  for  the  overbearing  confidence,  of  the  French.  Nor  was 
the  administration  of  their  own  countryman.  Cardinal  Portocarrero, 
calculated  to  restore  their  good  humor.  Besides  being  obnoxious 
as  the  agent  of  a  foreign  government,  his  persecution  of  the  Aus- 
trian party, — for  such  a  party  there  had  always  been, — and  of  his 
own  political  opponents  was  as  unseasonable  as  it  was  revengeful. 
The  general  discontent  was  increased  by  the  perpetual  arrival 
of  French  adventurers,  men  w'ithout  money  or  principle, — pick- 
pockets, gamblers,  sharpers,  projectors,  impostors,  and  evil  char- 
acters of  every  description.  At  length  even  the  nobles  clamored 
for  the  convocation  of  the  Cortes,  without  whose  sanction  the 
reformations  planned  by  the  minister,  Orri,  could  not  have  the 
force  of  law.  Well  w^ould  it  have  been  for  both  Philip  and 
his  kingdom  had  this  constitutional  expedient  been  adopted. 
Though  absent,  he  refused  his  sanction.  Fie  feared  that  the 
assembly  would  be  tumultuous  and  unmanageable,  that  it  would 
greatly  circumscribe  his  authority.  The  refusal  of  a  demand 
so  constitutional  and  reasonable  was  not  likely  to  diminish  the  wide- 
spread dissatisfaction.  The  jarring  opinions  of  the  ministers,  the 
absolute  indifference  which  the  king  had  shown  to  all  public  busi- 
ness, the  arrival  of  the  Count  de  ]\Iarsin,  a  nobleman  of  talents, 
indeed,  but  without  discretion,  as  successor  to  the  duke  of  Har- 
court,  and  the  recent  departure  of  Philip  for  Italy, — a  departure 
highly  disapproved  of  both  by  ministers  and  people — gave  new  force 
to  the  general  complaint.  No  wonder  that  the  queen,  after  the 
honors  of  her  first  reception  were  over,  should  find  her  situation  far 
from  enviable. 

Unfortunate  as  was  the  position  of  affairs  at  home,  it  was  not 
more  promising  abroad.  Though  Philip  was  received  with  out- 
ward, he  could  not  command  the  cordial  resix^ct  of  the  Neapolitans. 
Most  observed  a  profound  silence,  especially  after  the  holy  blood  of 
St.  Januarius  refused  to  liquefy  in  his  presence,  and  after  the  poyye 


390  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1702 

refused  to  grant  him  the  investiture  of  the  kingdom.  From 
Naples  he  hastened  to  Milan,  to  oppose  the  imperial  general,  Prince 
Eugene,  who,  notwithstanding  the  opposition,  had  established  him- 
self in  LomJ^ardy.  After  some  unimportant  operations,  he  was 
present  at  the  bloody  but  indecisive  battle  of  Lazzara.  Soon  after- 
wards he  left  the  camp  on  his  return  to  Spain,  where  he  was  sum- 
moned by  events  which  we  proceed  to  record. 

Though  William  of  England,  as  before  related,  had  acknowl- 
edged Philip,  he  had  done  so  with  duplicity :  he  knew  that  both  his 
parliaments  were  at  that  time  averse  to  war,  and  he  could  only  wait 
for  some  act  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  Louis,  which,  by  incensing 
the  English,  should  enable  him  to  draw  the  sword.  The  measures 
which  Louis  aimed  at  the  English  and  Dutch  commerce  soon  fur- 
nished him  with  the  opportunity  he  sought.  The  two  governments 
now  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Austria,  who  had  hitherto  been 
fighting  her  own  battles  in  Germany  and  Italy.  The  chief  objects 
of  this  alliance  were  to  obtain  satisfaction  for  the  Austrian  claims 
on  Spain,  to  rescue  the  Netherlands  from  France,  to  prevent  the 
union  of  the  French  and  Spanish  crowns,  and  to  exclude  subjects 
of  the  former  from  the  Spanish  possessions  in  the  West  Indies.  In 
revenge  for  this  impolitic  conduct  of  William,  Louis,  with  equal 
impolicy,  acknowledged  the  son  of  the  exiled  James  Stuart  as  king 
of  England.  This  insult  roused  the  Protestant  party,  supplies  were 
voted  for  the  war,  and  though  the  king  died  in  the  midst  of  the 
preparations,  Anne  succeeded  to  the  same  policy. 

Here  commences  the  celebrated  war  of  the  Succession,  which 
for  so  many  years  agitated  all  Europe,  covered  the  Netherlands 
with  blood,  desolated  the  fairest  provinces  of  Spain,  and  ended  in 
the  loss  of  her  Italian  possessions.  Omitting  all  mention  of  the 
interminable  operations  in  the  Low  Countries,  Germany,  and  Italy, 
in  1702  an  expedition  consisting  of  thirty  English  and  twenty 
Dutch  vessels  of  the  line,  exclusive  of  numerous  transports,  and 
carrying  11,000  men,  was  sent  against  Cadiz.  It  was  headed  by 
the  Duke  of  Ormond,  who  was  totally  unqualified  for  the  post,  nor 
were  the  subordinate  generals  much  more  happily  chosen.  Where 
the  Dutch  and  the  English  were  jealous  of  each  other,  and  the 
officers  even  in  the  same  army  were  more  inclined  to  quarrel  than 
to  obey,  where  the  commander-in-chief  had  no  influence  over  any 
of  his  officers,  concord  was  impossible.  If  a  plan  were  proposed 
by  one  party,  it  was  sure  to  be  rejected  by  another.      Hence  three 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  391 

1702 

days  were  lost  in  quarreling  on  what  point  the  disembarkation 
might  best  be  effected ;  a  time  which  the  Spanish  garrison,  at  first 
not  exceeding  300  men,  employed  in  recruiting  its  numbers.  For- 
tunately for  the  country,  the  captain-general  of  Andalusia,  Don 
Francisco  de  Castilla,  marquis  of  Villadarias,  was  not  only  a  true 
patriot,  but  a  brave  and  able  man.  Though  he  could  produce  but 
little  assistance  from  the  court,  which,  during  the  absence  of  the 
king  in  Italy,  was  a  prey  to  more  than  usual  discord,  he  drew  some 
hasty  supplies  from  Seville  and  Cordova,  secured  the  harbor, 
strengthened  the  garrison,  and,  with  a  small  though  resolute  force, 
lined  the  coast  to  oppose  the  landing.  The  disembarkation  being 
at  length  effected  with  some  loss,  the  governor  of  Rota, — the  only 
traitor  during  the  present  hostilities, — admitted  the  invaders,  and 
for  his  treason  was  created  a  marquis  by  the  agent  of  the  arch- 
duke. But  the  inhabitants  had  little  reason  to  congratulate  them- 
selves :  they  were  plundered,  insulted,  beaten,  and  even  murdered 
by  the  licentious  soldiery.  At  the  town  of  Santa  IMaria,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  invaders,  greater  excesses 
were  committed.  Their  next  step  was  to  assail  the  fortress  of 
Matagorda,  one  of  the  outworks  of  Cadiz ;  but,  experiencing  a 
warm  resistance  from  the  garrison,  and  from  the  harassing  attacks 
of  Villadarias,  they  soon  desisted  from  the  enterprise.  Equally 
unsuccessful  was  the  attempt  of  the  English  ships  to  force  their  way 
into  the  harbor.  To  crown  their  infanny,  cowardice  was  now  added 
to  murder  and  rapine:  the  invaders  precipitately  retreated  to  their 
ships;  600  of  the  rear  guard  were  cut  to  pieces  by  half  the  number 
of  pursuers;  more  still  were  drowned  in  their  ])recipitate  efforts  to 
regain  the  ships:  all  who  straggled  behind  were  massacred  by  the 
incensed  peasantry.  The  armament  returned,  and  in  Vigo  Bay  it 
destroyed  the  greater  part  of  a  Spanish  and  T^rench  fleet,  rich  by 
the  productions  of  the  Indies. 

The  fate  of  the  governor  of  Rota,  who  on  the  retreat  of  the 
English  had  been  hanged  by  order  of  Villadarias.  did  not  deter  a 
nobleman  of  tlie  highest  rank,  of  great  power,  and  still  greater 
riches  from  the  same  treason.  The  admiral  of  Castile,  who  in  tlie 
preceding  reign  had  dispensed  the  patronage  of  the  crown,  from 
no  other  feeling  than  disappc^inted  ambition  at  seeing  the  Cardinal 
Port(K\arrero  in  possession  of  a  post  to  which  he  considered  himself 
entitled,  opened  a  treasonable  correspondence  with  the  court  of 
Vienna.     Being  suspected,  and  (U-dereil  on  an  embassy  to  I-'rancr. 


392  SPAIN    AND     PORTUGAL 

1703 

— perhaps,  as  he  feared,  to  be  imprisoned  by  Louis, — he  accepted 
the  proffered  dignity,  but  had  proceeded  only  three  days'  journey 
when  he  turned  aside  and  rapidly  fled  to  Lisbon,  with  the  intention 
of  persuading  the  Portuguese  king,  who  had  hitherto  remained 
neutral,  to  join  the  confederates  against  Philip.  His  intrigues  in 
a  few  short  months  did  more  for  the  allied  cause  than  would  have 
been  effected  by  the  English  cabinet  in  as  many  years :  he  drew  the 
Portuguese  king  into  the  confederacy,  and  persuaded  Leopold  to 
allow  the  archduke  to  visit  the  Peninsula.  The  treaty  which  was 
signed  at  Lisbon  in  May,  1703,  was  as  infamous  to  the  character  of 
its  partisans  as  any  other  transaction  of  this  war.  Though  the 
constable  was  a  grandee  of  Spain,  he  consented  to  its  dismember- 
ment. Badajos,  Albuquerque,  Tuy,  Bayona,  Vigo,  and  other  fron- 
tier cities  were  to  be  surrendered  to  Don  Pedro ;  nor  did  the  arch- 
duke hesitate  to  sanction  this  insulting  injustice  to  a  country  the 
integrity  of  which,  in  the  event  of  his  succession,  he  would  have 
been  so  solemnly  bound  to  defend.  On  his  side,  Pedro  engaged  to 
maintain  15,000  men  at  his  own  expense,  and  13,000  at  that  of  the 
allies. 

On  the  return  of  Philip  he  found  the  government  embarrassed, 
and  the  nation  indignant  at  the  recent  loss  of  his  wealthy  galleons 
in  Vigo  Bay.  He  found,  too,  the  divisions  in  his  cabinet  more 
bitter  than  even  at  the  period  of  his  departure.  Through  the  Prin- 
cess Orsini,  who  was  intended  to  be  the  passive  agent  of  Louis,  yet 
who  often  showed  that  she  could  pursue  plans  of  her  own  with 
even  more  success  than  his,  the  haughty  count  de  Marsin,  ambassa- 
dor of  France,  had  been  replaced  by  the  Cardinal  d'Estrees.  To 
the  same  influence  was  owing  the  declining  power  of  Cardinal 
Portocarrero,  and  the  ascendency  of  the  conde  de  Montellano,  who 
showed  more  deference  to  the  queen's  favorite.  D'Estrees,  a  man 
of  considerable  talent,  of  great  family,  and  highly  in  favor  with 
Louis,  committed  the  same  errors  as  his  predecessors ;  he  disdained 
to  win  the  princess :  like  them,  in  a  few  short  months,  the  same 
influence  procured  his  recall,  his  own  nephew,  the  Abbe  d'Estrees, 
being  made  an  instrument  of  his  disgrace.  At  the  same  time  the 
Spanish  cardinal  retired  in  disgust  from  the  helm  of  affairs.  These 
changes  of  men  and  measures  could  not  fail  to  prove  disastrous : 
they  showed  that  at  court,  where  union  and  vigor  were  necessary  to 
free  the  soil  of  the  country  from  the  miseries  of  foreign  invasion, 
nothing  but  caprice  or  indecision  prevailed. 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  393 

1704 

While  this  feeble  cabinet  was  thus  a  prey  to  the  basest  pas- 
sions, the  storm  of  war  again  lowered  on  the  frontier.  In  pursuance 
of  the  treaty  with  Portugal  12,000  Englis'h  and  Dutch  troops,  who 
were  soon  joined  by  the  Archduke  Charles  in  person,  were  landed 
in  that  country.  But  the  Duke  de  Schomberg,  the  general  of  the 
English  forces,  was  a  man  of  factitious  reputation;  he  was  far 
inferior  in  either  activity  or  ability  to  the  Duke  of  Berwick,  a  son 
of  the  English  James  II.  whom  Louis  placed  at  the  head  of  the  com- 
bined French  and  Spanish  army.  Yet  if  this  celebrated  man  had 
abilities  of  the  highest  order,  joined  with  native  generosity  of  mind, 
he  was  not  fitted  to  exercise  much  sway  in  Spain.  He  was  too 
proud  to  flatter  the  queen  or  the  Princess  Orsini :  he  despised  courtly 
intrigues,  and  his  discipline  was  so  severe  that  it  displeased  his 
followers,  whom  laxity  had  enervated.  By  all,  however,  he  was 
respected,  and  by  all  was  confidence  deservedly  placed  in  his  talents. 
With  a  force  considerably  superior  to  that  of  the  enemy,  divided 
into  three  bodies,  and  accompanied  by  Philip  in  person,  he  ad- 
vanced into  Portugal.  First,  Salvatierra  was  invested  and  re- 
duced; other  fortresses  as  far  as  Castel-branco  shared  the  same 
fate.  But  these  advantages  were  not  gained  without  loss;  the 
Portuguese  peasantry,  from  hereditary  enmity  to  the  Spaniards, 
made  a  noble  defense  even  in  the  open  towns  and  villages — a  fact 
to  which  Berwick  himself  bears  honorable  testimony.  Having 
fought  his  way  through  an  angry  population,  that  strong  fortress 
could  not  long  withstand  assaults  at  once  vigorous  and  well  di- 
rected:  in  four  days  it  was  taken  and  pillaged.  During  these 
operations  the  allies  had  continued  almost  motionless  or  been 
silently  gathering  round  Lisbon  in  the  expectation  of  a  siege,  but 
on  the  compulsory  retreat  of  Berwick,  the  Marquis  das  Minas,  the 
only  good  officer  in  the  Portuguese  service,  took  the  field,  defeated 
Ronquillo,  one  of  the  Spanish  generals,  and  in  a  few  days  rescued 
Castel-branco,  with  several  of  the  fortresses  which  had  been  reduced. 
Under  the  walls  of  JMonscato  a  still  more  decisive  advantage  was 
gained  over  Ronquillo.  The  skill  of  Das  Minas  was  equal  to  his 
valor:  he  baffled  every  attempt  of  Berwick  to  dislodge  him  from  the 
strong  position  he  occupied  in  the  pass  of  Penamaqon,  and  even 
forced  that  general  to  return  across  the  frontier.  The  reduction 
of  Castel  de  Vida  by  the  ]\Lirquis  of  ViHadarias  was  the  last  exploit 
of  this  campaign,  which  the  summer  heats  and  the  scarcity  of  prov- 
ender for  the  horses  now  brought  to  a  close.      Berwick  razed  the 


394<  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1705 

fortifications  of  liis  conquests,  broke  up  his  camp,  and  retired  to 
Salamanca,  whence  he  cautiously  watched  the  proceedings  of  Das 
Minas,  who  advanced  to  Almeida.  As  for  Schomberg,  he  did  noth- 
ing during  the  whole  campaign,  says  Berwick,  but  move  from  place 
to  place  with  his  army:  he  was  consequently  removed,  and  suc- 
ceeded by  Lord  Galway,  a  man  more  imbecile  than  himself. 
Subsequently,  after  the  summer  heats  were  passed,  hostilities  were 
resumed,  but  with  as  little  effect,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  cam- 
paign Berwick  was  recalled. 

While  these  indecisive  events  were  passing  in  Portugal,  an 
expedition,  under  the  prince  of  Darmstadt  and  Sir  George  Rooke, 
the  English  admiral,  proceeded  to  Barcelona,  The  prince  had 
boasted — whether  through  credulity  or  duplicity  is  needless  to  in- 
quire— that  no  sooner  should  the  standard  of  Charles  be  erected 
than  it  would  be  joined  by  thousands  of  the  disaffected  Catalans, 
But  though  sufficiently  inclined  to  throw  off  their  allegiance  to 
Philip,  none  joined  the  English,  w^ho,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt 
on  Barcelona,  reembarked  and  returned  towards  Portugal.  On 
their  passage,  however,  they  took  Gibraltar,  and  Sir  George  had 
the  satisfaction  to  inflict  some  loss  on  the  French  fleet  off  the  coast 
of  Malaga.  But  the  transactions  of  the  year  were  little  honorable 
to  the  allies  of  Austria.  Notwithstanding  their  formidable  prepar- 
ations, no  impression  was  made  on  the  power  of  Philip, 

The  following  year  was  destined  to  prove  more  memorable, 
and  more  successful  to  the  allies.  Gibraltar,  the  blockade  of  which 
had  been  commenced  the  preceding  October  by  the  Marquis  of  Villa- 
darias,  and  which  was  now  pressed  by  Tesse,  the  successor  of  Ber- 
wick, made  so  gallant  a  defense  that  in  ]\Iay  its  siege  was  raised. 
The  operations,  however,  on  the  Estremadura  frontiers  were  slow, 
ill-judged,  and  indecisive,  and  do  not  deserve  mention.  But  in  the 
eastern  parts  of  Spain  the  aspect  of  affairs  was  more  striking. 
Though  disappointed  at  the  ill-success  of  its  imbecile  generals, 
the  English  cabinet  was  emboldened  by  the  victories  of  ]\Iarl- 
borough  to  make  new  and  mightier  efforts  against  the  Bourbon 
prince  in  the  south,  iKccordingly  in  June  15.000  men  under  Lord 
Peterborough  were  dispatched  to  Spain.  This  extraordinary  man, 
whose  eccentricities  even  surpassed  his  genius,  was  admirably 
adapted  for  partisan  warfare,  or  for  a  separate  subordinate  com- 
mand where  desperate  valor  was  likely  to  prove  more  useful  than 
sober  courage.     On  arriving  at  Lisbon  lie  was  joined  by  the  Arch- 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  395 

1705 

duke  Charles,  who  was  justly  disgusted  with  the  ill-success  of  his 
affairs  in  Portugal.  The  expedition  now  proceeded  through  the 
straits  of  Gibraltar,  uncertain  as  to  its  destination ;  but  the  prince  of 
Darmstadt,  who  during  the  last  insurrection  of  the  Catalans  had 
served  in  that  province,  persuaded  the  archduke  to  advance  against 
Barcelona.  When  the  fleet  arrived  off  the  Valencian  coast  the 
same  feeling  was  found  to  exist  in  that  province.  The  chiefs  dis- 
embarked and  were  joined  by  numbers  of  the  disaffected:  the 
garrison  of  Denia  was  compelled  to  surrender  and  witness  the 
proclamation  of  Charles  III.  On  arriving  before  Barcelona,  a  pro- 
ject equally  bold,  and  one  which  might  have  proved  equally  rash, 
was  formed  by  him.  He  saw  that  the  fortifications  were  in  the 
best  state  and  well  defended,  and  he  knew  that  an  army  four  times 
as  numerous  as  the  one  he  commanded  would  be  necessary  to  form 
the  first  line  of  circumvallation ;  nor  was  there  anv  hope  of  recruit- 
ing his  troops  by  desertions  from  the  Catalans  until  some  instance 
of  decided  success  had  blown  the  smothered  disposition  into  a  flame. 
In  this  emergency  he  resolved  to  attempt  the  surprise  of  the  fortress 
of  Montjuich,  which  overlooks  the  city  and  the  possession  of  which 
would,  if  not  decide,  at  least  prepare,  the  surrender  of  Barcelona. 
But  that  fortress  being  built  on  the  summit  of  an  abrupt  hill  and  pro- 
tected by  formidable  works,  was  considered  impregnable,  and  im- 
pregnable it  would  have  proved  to  an  open  attack.  Secrecy  being 
the  soul  of  his  enterprise,  wliich  lie  did  ndt  communicate  even  to  tlie 
archduke,  with  the  view  of  lulling  the  garrison  into  security,  he 
reembarked  his  great  guns  and  announced  h.is  intention  of  sailing 
for  Italy.  But  the  veiy  night  appointed  for  his  departure  he 
silently  moved  1,400  men  towards  the  works,  acquainted  the  gal- 
lant Darmstadt  with  his  intenticMi,  and  both  heroes  on  reaching 
the  foot  of  the  rami)arts  waited  until  day  should  dawn.  The  as- 
sault was  then  vigorously  made  by  about  300  men.  According  to 
anticipation,  the  Spaniards  left  the  upper  works  t(^  combat  so  small 
a  band  below;  they  were  instantly  repulsed,  and  were  pursued 
through  the  covered  way:  tlie  bastion  fell  into  tlie  possession  r)f 
the  assailants.  At  the  same  time  anollicr  party  scaled  the  western 
part  of  Montjuich  and  seized  tln-cc  pieces  of  ordnance;  a  resolute 
garrison  was  in  consequence  compelled  to  remain  in  the  keep,  since 
it  could  not  issue  out  without  being  exposed  to  a  murderous  fire. 
To  reduce  that  inner  fort.  retcrhorcM.igh  sent  for  a  reinforcement 
of  1,000  men,  wb,(nn  he  liatl  left  about  a  (juarter  of  a  mile  from 


396  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1706 

the  works:  at  the  same  time  900  of  the  garrison  of  Barcelona 
advanced  to  the  rehef  of  their  fellow-soldiers,  and  200  were  for- 
tunate enough  to  enter  the  keep.  The  cannon  of  the  English  was 
soon  brought  to  bear  on  the  keep;  a  shell  accidentally  falling  into 
the  powder  magazine,  killing  the  principal  officers  while  at  dinner, 
hastened  its  surrender.  From  this  elevation  the  artillery  of  the 
English  played  with  tremendous  effect  on  the  ramparts  of  the 
city;  a  breach  was  made  and  a  day  appointed  for  the  assault.  But 
the  governor,  Velasco,  though  among  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  to 
avoid  the  horrors  attending  a  storming,  offered  to  capitulate  if 
in  four  days  the  place  were  not  relieved.  Even  this  period  w^as 
shortened,  which  enabled  Velasco  to  escape  on  board  an  English 
vessel.  On  October  23  the  Archduke  Charles  solemnly  entered  and 
was  proclaimed  king  of  Spain.  The  example  of  the  capital  was 
followed  by  the  rest  of  the  principality,  all  the  towns  of  which, 
except  Rosas  and  Cervera,  declared  for  the  Austrian, 

The  reduction  of  Barcelona  and  the  insurrection  of  Valencia 
could  not  fail  to  make  a  profound  impression  at  Madrid.  By 
this  time  Philip  seems  to  have  attained  a  salutary  conviction  that 
unless  he  assumed  an  activity  corresponding  to  his  circumstances, 
his  reign  would  soon  be  at  an  end ;  he  accordingly  resolved  to  take 
the  field  in  person.  Having  petitioned  Louis  for  a  powerful  re- 
inforcement, and  withdrawn  most  of  the  troops  engaged  on  the 
frontiers  of  Portugal — leaving  a  handful  only  under  Berwick, 
who  had  been  again  ordered  to  assume  the  conduct  of  the  western 
war — he  proceeded  to  invest  Barcelona,  the  recovery  of  which 
would  naturally  constrain  the  submission  of  Catalonia,  and  per- 
haps put  an  end  to  the  war  by  the  capture  of  his  rival.  Philip 
having  reached  the  army  at  Alcafiiz,  proceeded  towards  the  capi- 
tal, under  the  walls  of  which  he  was  joined  by  the  Duke  de 
Noailles;  and  he  had  the  gratification  of  seeing  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor  blockaded  by  a  fleet  of  thirty  sail.  But  resistance  grew 
at  length  languid,  and  a  day  was  fixed  for  the  assault;  in  a  few 
hours  Philip  was  assured  that  the  enemy  would  be  in  his  power. 
At  this  critical  moment,  when  the  sun  of  Charles  seemed  to  be 
set  forever,  a  British  squadron  appeared  in  sight ;  tlie  French  fleet, 
with  inconceivable  cowardice,  retired  towards  Toulon ;  the  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch  landed.  Philip  was  himself  now  besieged ;  but 
in  the  silence  of  night,  forsaking  his  guns,  his  baggage,  and 
even  his  wounded,  he  made  a  precipitate  though  reluctant  retreat. 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  397 

t706 

Knowing  that  Aragon  was  rising  against  him,  his  only  refuge 
was  on  the  frontiers  of  France;  in  his  flight  he  was  still  harassed 
by  the  active  Peterborough ;  but  having  remained  a  few  days 
at  Perpignan,  he  precipitately  and  without  an  escort  passed  to 
Pamplona,  where  he  met  indeed  with  professions  of  attachment, 
but  no  real  service.  At  this  time  his  affairs  seemed  hopeless. 
The  Duke  of  Marlborough  had  just  triumphed  at  Ramilies;  a 
French  army  in  Italy  had  been  almost  annihilated;  and  the  war 
in  his  own  western  provinces  was  no  less  disastrous  than  in  the 
eastern.  Great  as  were  the  abiHties  of  Berwick,  his  small  band 
could  not  face  the  40,000  enemies  before  him ;  he  therefore  re- 
treated, had  the  mortification  to  witness  the  capture  of  Alcantara, 
Ciudad  Rodrigo,  and  Salamanca,  and  the  approach  of  the  con- 
federates towards  Madrid,  who  had  agreed  to  effect  a  junction 
with  their  allies  from  the  east.  To  defend  that  capital  with  8,000 
men,  the  only  remaining  force  of  the  monarcliy.  would  have  been 
madness.  By  his  advice  the  court  was  removed  to  Burgos,  the 
ancient  capital  of  Castile.  It  was  high  time,  for  scarcely  had 
Philip  left  it  than  the  light  troops  of  Galway  and  Das  Minas 
appeared  in  sight,  and  on  the  28th  day  of  June  those  chiefs,  at 
the  head  of  30,000  men,  made  a  triumphant  entry  into  Madrid. 

To  ordinary  and  even  to  many  acute  observers  the  Bourbon 
power  seemed  forever  fallen  in  the  Peninsula.  Without  forces, 
without  money,  a  fugitive  from  his  capital,  which  was  occupied 
by  a  foiinidable  enemy,  his  fairest  provinces  in  the  power  of  his 
rival,  Philip  was  expected  to  retreat  int(T  France.  But  he  had 
no  such  intention ;  adversity  called  forth  powers  which  had 
hitherto  slumbered  within  him,  and  the  existence  of  which  had  not 
been  suspected  perhaps  even  by  himself.  When  the  allied  troops 
had  entered  into  IMadrid  no  shout  had  been  raised  in  favor 
of  Charles;  a  mournful  silence  reigned  on  every  side,  and  though 
the  archduke  had  been  proclaimed  by  his  generals,  and  some  dis- 
affected nobles  nominated  his  ministers,  the  ceremony  was  omi- 
nously lifeless.  Madrid  was  not  Spain,  and  the  Spaniards  were 
not  Flemings — facts  of  which  the  allied  generals  had  soon  a  mel- 
ancholy experience.  In  Castile  almost  every  individual  became 
a  soldier.  Fstremadura  furnished  and  equipped  t 2,000:  in  Sala- 
manca no  sooner  had  the  allies  left  it  on  the  marcli  to  the  ca])ital 
than  the  inhabitants  arose,  again  proclaimed  Philip,  and  levied 
a  boflv  of  troops  to  cut  off  all  communication  l)et\vcen  them  and 


398  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1706-1707 

Portugal.  Toledo,  indeed,  declared  for  Charles,  but  this  was 
a  mere  temporary  impulse,  excited  by  the  queen  dowager,  his 
uncle,  and  by  Cardinal  Portocarrero,  who,  from  hatred  to  the 
French,  was  now  willing  to  undo  his  own  great  work.  The  rising 
spirit  of  the  people  was  not  the  only  cause  of  this  change ;  the 
allied  generals  grew  suddenly  inactive;  the  troops  in  Madrid  aban- 
doned themselves  to  many  excesses,  which  they  found  more  at- 
tractive than  the  fatigues  and  dangers  of  a  campaign,  and 
Charles  himself  wasted  so  much  time  in  Barcelona  and  Aragon 
that  when  he  joined  his  generals  at  Guadalaxara  he  perceived 
the  active  Berwick  at  the  head  of  a  greater  force  than  his  own. 
By  that  able  man  his  communication  with  Aragon  was  inter- 
cepted ;  it  had  already  been  cut  off  with  Portugal ;  Andalusia  was 
in  arms ;  so  that  his  only  way  of  escape  was  to  the  capital  or 
into  Valencia.  But  Madrid  was  waiting  the  arrival  of  a  detach- 
ment from  the  army  of  Berwick  to  throw  off  his  yoke ;  he  there- 
fore commenced  his  retreat  towards  that  kingdom,  and  was  pur- 
sued by  the  enemy,  who  caused  him  great  loss.  Philip  joined  in 
the  pursuit  as  far  as  the  confines  of  ]\Iurcia,  witnessed  the  reduc- 
tion of  Orihuela,  Cuenca.and  Carthagena,  and  returned  in  triumph 
to  Madrid,  which  received  him  with  enthusiastic  demonstrations 
of  joy.  In  punishing  the  Austrian  partisans  he  showed  becoming 
forbearance.  Cardinal  Portocarrero  was  forgiven  in  memory  of 
his  past  services,  and  the  queen  dowager  was  respectfully  escorted 
out  of  Spain.  Thus  ended  this  wonderful  campaign — wonderful 
alike  from  its  rapid  changes  and  from  the  chivalrous  fidelity  of 
the  Castilians. 

The  tide  of  success  had  now  set  in  too  strongly  to  be  stemmed 
by  any  barrier  opposed  Ijy  the  allies.  On  the  plain  of  Almanza 
Das  ]Minas  and  Galway  were  signally  defeated  by  the  able  Ber- 
wick. This  victory  established  the  throne  of  Philip ;  it  inspired 
his  adherents  with  confidence;  in  the  same  degree  it  dispirited  his 
encnnies,  and  it  was  followed  by  advantages  of  still  greater  mo- 
ment. While  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  who  arrived  witli  reinforce- 
ments from  France,  led  an  army  into  Aragon,  Berwick  proceeded 
to  reduce  the  fortresses  of  Valencia.  The  capitals  of  both  king- 
doms submitted  without  striking  a  blow ;  in  the  former  the  ex- 
ample was  imitated  by  the  remaining  strong  places ;  in  the  latter 
Denia,  Xativa,  and  Alcante  resisted,  but  were  ultimately  reduced. 
In  ])unishment  of  their  desperate  valor  the  inhabitants  of  Xativa 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  f399 

1707-1710 

were  barbarously  butchered,  the  walls  were  razed  to  the  ground, 
and  when  it  was  subsequently  rebuilt  it  was  not  allowed  to  retain 
its  former  name,  but  received  that  of  San  Felipe.  But  the  heaviest 
of  all  penalties  was  the  abolition  of  the  ancient  fiicros,  both  of 
Aragon  and  Valencia,  by  a  royal  decree  of  June  29,  1707.  The 
same  fate  had  been  decreed  against  the  privileges  of  Catalonia, 
the  recovery  of  which  now  occupied  the  cares  of  the  French  gen- 
erals. But  before  this  object  could  be  gained  new  and  almost 
unparalleled  difficulties  had  to  be  encountered.  Naples  was  con- 
quered by  the  Austrians,  and  Milan  was  already  in  their  power. 
Tortosa  made  a  long  and  brilliant  defense;  some  reinforcements 
were  received  from  England ;  Gahvay  was  displaced  by  Stanhope, 
an  officer  of  courage  and  experience;  Count  Stahremberg,  the 
imperial  general,  arrived  with  auxiliaries,  and  the  Balearic  Isles 
were  reduced  by  the  allies.  In  the  memorable  campaign  of  17 10 
Philip  failed  against  Balaguer  and  was  defeated  by  Stahremberg  at 
Almenara,  still  more  signally  near  Saragossa;  though  he  was 
forced  to  retreat  to  his  capital,  and  immediately  afterwards  to. 
transfer  his  court  from  Madrid,  which  lie  was  again  destined  to 
see  in  the  power  of  his  enemies,  to  Valladolid,  still  he  had  the 
consolation  to  find  that  his  reverses  endeared  him  to  his  people, 
and  that  Spanish  loyalty  and  honor  were  not  to  be  shaken.  Add 
to  this  that  the  victory  of  La  Godina  obtained  over  the  luckless 
Gahvay  the  recovery  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo,  and  the  reduction  of 
some  Portuguese  fortresses  on  the  Estremadura  frontier.  Ipad  pre- 
ceded the  important  campaign  of  17 10,  and  had  naturally  encour- 
aged many  to  remain  firm  in  their  loyalty.  Tlie  cliaracter  of 
Philip  was  evidently  improved  by  increased  adversities,  and  so 
great  was  the  attachment  borne  to  him  that  when  his  rival  Charles 
entered  the  capital  (in  October)  scarcely  a  "riz'a!"  was  raised 
even  by  the  lowest  of  the  mob.  Cliarlcs  v/as  soon  disgusted  with 
Madrid ;  he  left  it  the  following  month,  and  was  scarcely  l)eyond 
the  gates  when  he  had  the  mortification  to  hear  the  bells  merrily 
ringing  for  his  departure.  Again  was  Philip  recalled  by  the  in- 
habitants of  ]\Iadrid,  who  greeted  him  with  their  warmest  accla- 
mations. But  tlie  time  was  too  ])recious  to  Ije  wasted;  accom- 
panied by  the  Duke  de  Vendomc,  who  liad  arrived  from  France  to 
take  the  place  of  the  Duke  d'Orlenns.  lie  jiastcned  in  pursuit  of  the 
allies.  At  Brihucga  tliey  overtook  Stanhope,  at  the  head  of  5.500 
men,  chiefly  English. 


400  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1710-1711 

The  following  morning  Stahremberg,  who  had  been  requested 
by  Stanhope  to  advance  to  the  rehef  of  his  alHes,  arrived  within 
sight  of  the  place,  and  Vendome  prepared  to  receive  him.  In  the 
battle  which  ensued  fortune  at  first  declared  for  Vendome;  a  vig- 
orous charge  of  the  imperial  general  turned  it  in  favor  of  the  allies ; 
the  French  duke,  with  Philip,  was  preparing  to  flee,  when  the 
reserves,  being  brought  up  by  the  Marquis  de  Valdecafias,  and  a 
fierce  attack  being  made  on  the  flank  of  Stahremberg,  it  remained 
with  the  victors  of  Stanhope.  But  the  latter,  with  a  valor  scarcely 
ever  surpassed,  retained  possession  of  the  field  until  night  closed 
the  conflict.  For  this  reason,  he,  as  well  as  Vendome,  claimed  the 
victory;  but  it  is  certain  that  whatever  advantage  was  gained  lay 
with  the  latter.  Before  daybreak  the  following  morning  he  spiked 
his  cannon,  and  commenced  his  hasty  retreat  to  Barcelona;  nor 
were  his  losses  during  this  precipitate  march  less  disastrous  than 
in  the  field  of  battle. 

These  disasters,  at  a  time  when  the  allied  cause  was  expected 
to  be  resistless,  the  amazing  sacrifices  of  men  and  money  which 
England  had  so  long  and  so  unwisely  made,  and,  above  all,  the 
change  of  Queen  Anne's  ministry,  strongly  indisposed  her  people 
to  the  continuation  of  the  war.  Besides,  by  the  death  of  the  em- 
peror Joseph,  in  April,  171 1,  Charles,  the  last  male  of  his  house, 
succeeded  to  immense  possessions,  and  would,  probably,  be  in- 
vested with  the  imperial  dignity, — an  expectation  indeed  soon  veri- 
fied by  the  event ; — and  the  union  of  so  many  states  with  the  crown 
of  Spain  threatened  to  become  no  less  fatal  to  the  pretended  balance 
of  power  than  even  the  union  of  France  and  Spain.  By  the  new 
ministry  overtures  of  negotiation  were  secretly  made  to  the  French 
court,  and  were  eagerly  accepted  by  Louis,  who,  in  artfully  afford- 
ing the  prospect  of  peculiar  commercial  advantages  to  the  English, 
could  not  fail  to  dispose  in  his  views  a  people  peculiarly  alive  to 
such  advantages.  At  length  the  preliminaries  to  a  separate  treaty 
between  France  and  England  were  signed ;  by  them  the  Protestant 
succession  was  recognized  in  Queen  Anne  and  her  successors ;  the 
works  of  Dunkirk  were  to  be  razed ;  Gibraltar,  Minorca,  St.  Chris- 
topher's, and  the  monopoly  of  the  asiento,  or  supply  of  slaves  for 
the  Spanish  colonies,  were  ceded  for  a  period  to  the  English ;  they 
were  also  secured  an  establishment  on  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  an  ex- 
emption from  certain  duties  in  the  port  of  Cadiz,  and  generally  the 
same  privileges  of  trade  in  Spain  as  were  enjoyed  by  the  French, 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  401 

1711-1713 

In  the  same  preliminaries  it  was  agreed  that  early  the  following 
year  conferences  should  be  opened  for  a  general  peace  at  Utrecht. 
During  these  negotiations,  the  nature  of  which  was  concealed  from 
the  world,  the  war  in  Catalonia  languished,  especially  after  Charles 
left  Barcelona  to  take  possession  of  his  hereditary  states.  But  he 
promised  to  return  with  new  reinforcements,  and  to  prove  his  sin- 
cerity he  left  his  queen  to  exercise  the  regency  in  Catalonia  and 
his  general  Stahremberg  with  all  his  disposable  forces  to  prosecute 
the  war.  On  reaching  Milan  he  was  acquainted  with  his  election 
to  the  empire.  His  first  object  was  to  counteract  tlie  new  policy 
of  England  by  drawing  closer  the  bonds  which  connected  him  with 
Holland.  But  his  efforts  were  unavailing:  the  conferences  were 
duly  opened  at  Utrecht;  England  openly  seceded  from  the  grand 
alliance,  and  orders  were  sent  for  the  reembarkation  of  the 
English  troops  in  Catalonia.  These  orders  were  of  necessity 
obeyed,  notwithstanding  the  indignant  representations  of  the  Cata- 
lans that  they  had  been  drawn  into  the  war  by  England,  and  had 
done  nothing  to  deserve  so  shameful  an  abandonment.  The  nego- 
tiations still  continued,  though  subject  to  some  suspensions.  At 
length  Louis,  having  consented  to  swear  that  the  two  crowns  of 
France  and  Spain  should  never  be  united  on  the  same  head,  and 
Philip  having  renounced,  both  for  himself  and  his  successors,  all 
claim  to  the  former — engagements  which  neither  considered  bind- 
ing— a  general  peace  was  signed,  April  ii,  1713,  by  the  ambassa- 
dors of  all  the  sovereigns  except  the  emperor.  Its  provisions,  as  far 
as  Spain  was  concerned,  were  few  but  momentous.  Philip  was  ac- 
knowledged king  of  Spain  and  the  Indies ;  but  Sicily,  with  the  regal 
title,  was  ceded  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  ]\Iilan,  Naples,  Sardinia, 
and  the  Netherlands,  to  the  emperor;^  Gibraltar  and  Minorca, 
with  the  commercial  advantages  before  mentioned,  to  the  English ; 
a  general  amnesty  was  guaranteed  to  the  Catalans,  but  without  any 
stipulations  for  the  preservation  of  their  ancient  fiicros.  In  case 
Philip  died  without  issue,  the  succession  was  to  devolve,  not  on  a 
prince  of  the  h(^use  of  France,  but  on  the  Duke  of  Savoy. 

By  this  celebrated  peace  Spain  was  stripped  of  half  her  pos- 
sessions in  Europe.  For  this  disnicmberment  of  the  monarchy 
Philip  cannot  be  blamed:  Milan  and  Naples  had  long  been  held 
by  the  rival  house ;  their  recovery  was  not  to  be  expected ;  the  two 
Italian  islands,  Sardinia  and  Sicily,  omld  no  longer  be  retained; 

1  In  1720    tlie  king  of  Sicily  cxcliangcd  tliat  island   for  Sardinia. 


402  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1713 

and  the  Netherlands  were  forever  lost.  The  War  of  the  Succession 
was  now  virtually  at  an  end :  Charles,  disabled  by  the  defection  of 
his  allies,  had  already  opened  negotiations  for  withdrawing  his 
troops  from  Catalonia,  and  though  the  inhabitants  of  the  capital 
were  resolved  to  continue  the  struggle  unaided,  it  could  not  be  of 
long  continuance.  Neither  this  war  nor  the  peace  which  followed 
it  was  honorable  to  the  allies.  Its  injustice  is  manifest:  it  was 
undertaken  to  dethrone  a  monarch  whom  the  Spanish  people 
had  chosen,  and  to  whom  they  adhered  with  unparalleled 
fidelity,  and  to  replace  him  by  a  prince  for  whom  they  enter- 
tained no  other  sentiment  than  abhorrence:  it  was,  moreover,  an 
insult  to  the  national  independence,  an  odious  violation  of  in- 
ternational law. 

When  the  Catalans  knew  that  the  king  had  resolved  to  abolish 
their  fiieros,  and  that  neither  honor  nor  justice  was  to  be  expected 
from  England,  nay,  when  assured  that  the  emperor  himself,  who 
was  no  match  single-handed  for  France,  was  compelled  to  forsake 
them,  instead  of  bewailing  their  situation  they  manfully  resolved 
to  continue  in  arms  against  the  whole  force  of  the  Bourbons.  They 
rejected  the  proffered  amnesty  of  Philip,  unless  their  privileges 
were  to  be  declared  inviolable.  The  Catalans  did  not  fall  without 
one  of  the  noblest  struggles  on  record.  An  overwhelming  army 
reduced  all  their  fortresses,  except  Cardena  and  the  capital ;  the 
latter  was  invested,  held  for  months  in  a  state  of  blockade,  while 
a  formidable  artillery  played,  with  few  intermissions,  on  the  walls. 
In  the  spring  of  17 14,  Berwick,  with  20,000  Frenchmen,  arrived 
to  reinforce  the  besiegers,  and  an  English  squadron  was  dispatched 
for  the  same  purpose.  Nothing  could  daunt  the  inhabitants ;  all 
who  were  strong  enough  flew  to  arms;  even  the  women  and  the 
ecclesiastics,  whose  patriotism  is  usually  more  tranquil,  enrolled 
themselves  in  the  ranks  and  fought  with  desperation.  On  the 
death  of  Anne,  whose  ministers  had  so  basely  betrayed  them,  they 
hoped  that  justice  might  be  admitted  into  the  cabinet  of  Britain; 
but  a  change  of  dynasty  brought  no  change  in  the  former  policy. 
Before  the  final  assault  of  Barcelona,  which  was  fixed  for  tlie  morn- 
ing of  September  11,  Berwick  proposed  a  favorable  capitulation 
to  the  people :  his  proposal  was  rejected  because  it  did  not  guaran- 
tee the  preservation  of  their  fiicros.  Nothing  now  remained  but 
to  make  the  last  awful  attempt.  Fifty  companies  of  grenadiers 
advanced;  they  were  supported  by  forty  more;  but  before  they 


HOUSE     OF     BOUKBON  403 

1713-1714 

could  win  the  bastion  whole  ranks  were  swept  away  by  grapeshot. 
Even  when  this  object  was  gained,  the  streets  were  found  to  be 
barricaded,  and  a  murderous  fire  to  be  sustained  from  almost  every 
window.  Of  the  desperate  valor  of  the  besieged  some  idea  may  be 
formed  when  it  is  known  that  in  the  course  of  this  eventful  day 
the  bastion  of  San  Pedro  was  won  and  lost  eleven  times:  women 
and  priests  advanced  to  tlie  charge  with  amazing  impetuosity,  and 
such  was  the  havoc  which  they  and  tlieir  comrades  inflicted  on  the 
enemy  that  in  one  regiment,  long  before  the  close  of  the  struggle, 
every  superior  officer  had  fallen  and  an  ensign  remained  with  the 
command.  But  numbers  prevailed :  after  twelve  hours  of  incessant 
fighting,  the  small  remnant  of  Catalans  began  to  give  way;  a  white 
flag  was  hoisted,  the  carnage  was  suspended,  negotiations  were 
opened;  but  as  the  deputies  still  insisted  on  the  inviolability  of  their 
ancient  rights,  they  were  hastily  broken  off.  During  the  night  a 
fire  of  musketry  was  maintained  from  the  houses,  but  in  the  morn- 
ing of  September  12,  when  Berwick,  proceeding  to  put  all  to  the 
sword  and  burn  the  city  to  the  ground,  had  ordered  several  houses 
to  be  set  on  fire,  the  leaders  consented  to  capitulate.  The  chief 
conditions  were  that  their  lives  should  be  spared  and  their  property 
respected ;  but  that  they  should  surrender  both  the  fortress  of 
Montjuich  and  Cardona. 

During  these  eventful  hostilities  the  court  of  ^Madrid  pursued 
its  usual  career  of  intrigue  and  imbecility,  llie  ascendency  of  the 
queen,  and,  through  her,  of  the  Princess  Orsini.  remained  uncon- 
trolled, and  it  continued  to  be  exercised  either  beneficially  or  in- 
juriously to  the  country,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  petty  or 
base  passions  which  it  was  employed  to  gratify.  In  return  for  his 
renunciation  of  all  future  claim  to  the  crown  of  France,  in  171 2 
Philip  forced,  rather  than  persuaded,  his  council  t(^  alter  the  order 
of  succession  in  Spain — to  introduce  a  sort  of  Salic  law.  by  which 
the  most  distant  male  of  tlie  family  W()uld  be  called  to  the  in- 
heritance in  preference  to  the  nearest  female.  Even  after  the  death 
of  the  queen  of  Spain,  in  Febru'iry.  17 14.  who  left  two  sons,  the  in- 
fantes Luis  and  P'erdinand.  Orsini's  iniluciice  remained  paramount; 
during  the  preceding  years  she  had  rendered  lierself  no  less  neces- 
sary to  tlie  king  than  to  ]\Iaria  Theresa,  and  she  was  now  m(~)re  so 
than  ever.  Perceiving  that  Pln"lip  would  not  long  remain  without 
a  rjueen,  it  was  tlic  Princess  Ci-sini's  .'lim  to  j^rcn'ide  him  with  one 
■will)  would  be  as  nexible  to  her  purposes  as  the  lasl — one  without 


404  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1714 

energ-y  of  character,  who  would  take  no  part  in  court  intrigues, 
and  would  leave  her  an  important  share  in  the  government.  At 
this  period  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Alberoni  appears  on  the  stage  of 
Spanish  history:  he  had  entered  the  country  as  the  agent  of  the 
Duke  of  Parma,  and  had  been  favored  by  Vendome,  who  had 
secured  him  a  considerable  pension  on  the  see  of  Valencia:  even 
now  the  Marquis  Casali,  ambassador  of  Parma,  abandoned  to  him 
the  chief  affairs  of  his  mission.  In  this  capacity  he  had  access  to 
the  court,  where  he  soon  gained  the  confidence  of  the  princess. 
Seeing  her  embarrassment  in  choosing  a  wife  for  the  king, 
he  one  day  proposed  Isabel  Farnese,  daughter  of  the  late  and 
niece  of  the  present  Duke  of  Parma,  whom  he  represented 
as  simple,  devout,  immured  from  the  world,  and  exactly  fitted 
to  become  her  instrument.  In  this  proposal  he  had  a  double 
view — both  to  conciliate  the  favor  of  his  own  court  and  to  ruin 
the  princess, — for  well  he  knew  that  Isabel,  who  was  of  character 
totally  different  from  that  which  he  had  drawn,  could  never  be 
ruled.  The  choice  was  approved  by  the  favorite ;  negotiations  were 
secretly  opened  for  the  marriage;  the  papal  dispensation — for  the 
princess  was  nearly  related  to  the  deceased  queen — was  procured : 
and  the  favorite  exulted  in  the  prospect  of  continued  rule,  when 
she  discovered  the  real  character  of  her  future  mistress.  To  pre- 
vent the  execution  of  the  match  was  her  instant  resolve,  and  though 
the  necessary  powers  had  been  sent  to  celebrate  the  nuptials,  she 
dispatched  a  trusty  agent  to  Parma;  but  he  did  not  arrive  until  the 
morning  of  the  nuptials;  and  as  his  purpose  was  suspected,  he  was 
not  suffered  to  enter  the  city  until  the  ceremony  by  proxy  was  con- 
cluded. But  her  confidence  did  not  forsake  her:  she  affected  great 
delight  at  the  marriage,  and  accompanied  the  king  to  Alcala  to 
await  the  arrival  of  tlie  new  queen.  Leaving  the  king  in  that  town, 
whom  she  was  destined  to  see  no  more,  she  proceeded  towards 
Guadalaxara.  But  Alberoni,  who  had  met  his  royal  mistress  at 
Pamplona,  and  had  been  created  a  count. — had,  doubtless,  fixed  the 
fate  of  this  favorite — doubtless,  too.  even  with  the  full  connivance 
of  Philip.  Scarcely  was  the  Princess  Orsini  introduced  to  Isabel 
when,  by  order  of  the  latter,  she  was  arrested  and  liurried  towards 
the  frontier.  At  St.  Jean  de  Luz  she  was  set  at  liberty;  her  ward- 
robe, jewels,  and  money  were  forwarded  to  her  and  she  was  per- 
mitted to  revisit  Paris.  But  even  here  the  vengeance  of  the  new 
queen  i)ursued  her :  she  was  compelled  to  return  to  Avignon ;  from 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  405 

1715-1717 

there  she  passed  to  Rome,  where  she  ended  her  days  in  the  house- 
hold of  the  unfortunate  Stuart. 

The  disgrace  of  the  Princess  Orsini  was  followed  by  the  re- 
moval of  Orri  and  her  other  creatures  from  the  administration. 
Like  her  predecessor  Maria  Theresa,  Isabel  succeeded  to  the  most 
unbounded  power  over  the  royal  mind,  especially  after  the  death  of 
Louis  XIV.,  whom  Philip  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  with 
mingled  reverence  and  fear.  That  e\  ent  changed  his  policy.  Next 
to  Louis  XV.,  now  a  child,  he  was  the  heir  to  the  French  crown — 
his  renunciation  to  procure  the  peace  of  Utrecht  had  been  esteemed 
both  by  himself  and  his  grandfather  a  farce — and  as  such  he 
might  aspire  to  the  regency.  It  was  dexterously  seized  by  the 
Due  d'Orleans,  a  circumstance  which  alienated  him  from  the 
French  court.  This  indisposition  was  strengtliened  by  the  queen, 
whose  measures  were  irresistible,  whose  talents  were  of  a  higher 
order  than  her  predecessors,  whose  power  of  dissimulation  would 
have  been  honored  even  in  Italy,  and  who  as])ired  to  place  a  son 
of  her  own  (in  1716  she  was  delivered  of  the  infante  Don  Carlos) 
on  the  throne  of  France,  or  at  least  to  procure  for  one  the  ducal 
crowns  of  Parma,  Placentia,  and  Tuscany,  to  the  succession  of 
which,  in  default  of  heirs  male  by  the  reigning  dukes,  she  might 
look  forward  with  hope.  To  the  attainment  of  these  objects,  and 
the  continuation  of  the  Spanish  influence  in  Italy,  her  whole  soul 
was  bent:  hence,  as  she  was  in  reality  sovereign  of  Spain,  the  pol- 
icy of  the  monarchy  during  the  remainder  of  her  husband's  life 
was  necessarily  subservient  to  her  purposes.  The  favorite  and  ad- 
viser was  naturally  Alberoni.  a  ])ricst  of  commanding  abilities. 
Having,  by  his  dexterous  intrigues  no  less  tlian  the  (juecn's  favor, 
annihilated  the  power  of  tlie  prime  minister,  the  Cardinal  del 
Giudice,  and  obtained  tlie  directifm  nf  affairs,  Alberoni  began  to 
exhibit  his  designs  on  Italy  wliicli  were  so  injurious  to  the 
Austrian  domination  in  that  ])cninsula.  They  could  not  be  wholly 
hidden  from  the  imijcrial  court:  hence  distrust,  next  ill-will,  be- 
tween Madrid  and  Vienna.  The  impolitic  and  ar1)!trary  arrest  of 
the  Spanish  ambassador  in  Italy,  by  the  emperor's  (»r(ler,  so  irri- 
tated Philip  that  he  resolved  on  war,  even  tliough  he  knew  that  a 
triple  alliance  had  been  formed  l)etwcen  l''rance.  Fngland.  and 
Holland  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  As 
Spain  was  sure  to  stand  alone  in  the  conflict,  and  might  probably 
be  opposed  to  all  Euro])e.  Alberoni  strongly  disapproved  the  war. 


406  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1717-1718 

until  he  saw  that  by  persisting  in  his  fruitless  opposition  he  should 
only  seal  his  own  disgrace.  From  that  moment  he  showed  great 
alacrity  in  preparing  for  it.  With  the  view  of  conferring  greater 
luster  on  his  character  and  administration — he  was  now  (171 7) 
the  acknowledged  minister — he  compelled  the  pope  to  bestow  on 
him  the  dignity  of  cardinal.  That  of  grandee,  with  the  bishopric 
of  Malaga,  and  subsequently  the  archbishopric  of  Seville,  was 
added  by  the  Spanish  monarch.  In  August  an  armament,  consist- 
ing of  twelve  ships  and  9,000  men,  left  Barcelona  and  steered  for 
Sardinia.  In  about  two  months  the  island  was  subdued.  But  this 
conquest  was  intended  merely  as  the  prelude  to  others  of  far  higher 
moment, — the  recovery  of  Sicily  and  Naples.  Preparations  on  a 
more  extended  scale  were  hastened,  and  their  destination,  as  in  the 
former  case,  kept  profoundly  secret.  But  it  was  suspected ;  and 
England,  as  one  of  the  guarantees  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  after 
vainly  endeavoring  to  dispose  the  Spanish  court  to  a  reconciliation 
with  the  emperor,  equipped  an  armament  to  resist  the  aggressions 
of  that  power.  In  June,  1718,  the  Spanish  fleet,  consisting  of  23 
ships  and  30,000  men,  again  left  Barcelona,  cast  anchor  at  Cape 
Solanto,  about  four  leagues  from  Palermo,  and  landed  the  forces. 
Europe  beheld  with  some  alarm  this  vigorous  and  unexpected  effort 
of  a  power  which,  since  the  reign  of  Philip  II.,  had  sunk  into  in- 
significance. In  the  apprehension  of  another  war  not  less  fatal  than 
that  which  had  been  ended  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  France  now 
joined  with  England  and  Austria  to  humble  the  aspiring  views  of 
Alberoni ;  and  the  Dutch  were  drawn  into  the  treaty,  which  was 
afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  the  quadruple  alliance.  Palermo 
and  Messina  (except  the  citadel)  were  speedily  occupied;  the  whole 
island  was  preparing  to  receive  the  Spanish  yoke,  when  the  British 
fleet,  under  Admiral  Byng,  arrived  off  the  Sicilian  coast.  In  the 
action  which  followed  the  Spanish  fleet  was  almost  wholly  taken 
or  destroyed.  In  revenge,  Alberoni  entered  into  an  alliance  with 
Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  and  the  Czar  Peter  to  assist  the  Stuart 
in  an  invasion  of  Great  Britain;  but  the  death  of  the  Swedish  hero 
frustrated  his  hopes.  His  next  step  was  to  organize  a  conspiracy 
the  object  of  which  was  to  arrest  the  French  regent,  the  Due  d'Or- 
leans,  and  to  proclaim  Philip  as  the  guardian  of  the  infante  Louis. 
It  was  discovered,  and  war  naturally  declared  against  Spain.  At 
the  head  of  30,000  men  the  celebrated  Berwick  passed  the  Pyrenees 
into  Biscay,  while  Philip  and  the  cardinal  advanced  to  oppose;  but 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  407 

1718-1720 

seeing  the  superiority  of  his  force,  they  halted  at  Pamplona,  and 
had  the  mortification  to  learn  the  reduction  of  Fuentarabia,  San 
Antonio,  and  San  Sebastian.  From  Biscay,  Berwick  retraced  his 
steps  across  the  Pyrenees,  traversed  Bearne,  invaded  Catalonia, 
took  Urgel,  and,  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  on  Rosas,  retired  into 
Roussillon.  Undaunted  by  these  reverses,  the  cardinal  fitted  out 
at  Cadiz  a  formidable  expedition,  which  he  professed  to  be  directed 
against  Sicily,  but  which  he  dispatched  under  the  Duke  of  Ormond 
towards  Scotland  to  assist  in  placing  James  Stuart  on  the  throne 
of  Britain,  But  a  fatality  seems  to  have  attended  all  Spanish  arma- 
ments against  this  country.  Off  Cape  Finisterre  the  present  one 
was  dispersed  by  a  violent  storm :  two  frigates  only  reached  their 
destination,  and  the  handful  of  troops  they  poured  on  the  Scottish 
coast  was  soon  compelled  to  surrender.  In  revenge  a  British 
squadron  committed  great  devastations  on  the  coast  of  Galicia. 

In  Sicily  affairs  began  to  assume  an  appearance  equally  un- 
favorable for  this  enterprising  minister.  Victor  Asmodeus  acceded 
to  the  quadruple  alliance,  Austrian  troops  were  poured  into  the 
island,  and  the  Spaniards  were  driven  from  their  plains  into  the 
fortified  places.  Shortly  afterv/ards  Holland  also  acceded  ;  so  that 
the  cardinal  beheld  the  realization  of  his  fears.  Spain  now  stood 
alone  against  armed  Europe.  These  misfortunes  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  mind  of  Philip,  who  began  to  regard  his  min- 
ister with  an  unfriendly  eye.  This  dissatisfaction  was  zealously 
fomented  by  the  allies,  who  dreaded  the  aspiring  genius  of  this 
minister. 

Through  means  sufficiently  characteristic  of  a  court,  even  the 
queen  was  gained;  and  the  cardinal,  in  the  height  of  his  power, 
and  totally  unsuspicious  of  his  situation,  received  a  sudden 
order  to  leave  Aladrid  in  a  week,  and  tlie  S])anish  donu'nions  in 
three.  He  traversed  the  south  of  France,  eml)arked  at  Antibes. 
landed  at  Sestri  de  Levante,  with  the  intention  of  proceeding  to 
the  papal  court;  but  receiving  an  order  not  to  enter  the  territory 
of  the  church,  he  plunged  into  the  Apennines,  where  he  was  soon 
lost  to  the  world,  though  he  was  snbsef|ucntly  a  great  favorite 
with  tlie  Romnn  See.  As  witli  his  life  in  Italy  this  compendium 
has  no  concern,  we  sliall  only  remark  that  while  in  power  he 
introduced  many  and  most  salutary  improvements  into  the  inter- 
nal administratic^r;  that  he  restored  to  a  considerable  extent  the 
national   prosperity:  and   that  lie  was  beyond   all   comparison   the 


408  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1720-1724 

greatest  minister  the  country  had  possessed  since  the  famous  Car- 
dinal Ximenes  Cisneros. 

After  the  removal  of  the  cardinal  Philip  acceded,  though  not 
without  reluctance,  to  the  quadruple  alliance.  In  consequence  he 
renounced  all  claim  to  the  dismembered  provinces  of  the  mon- 
archy, consented  to  see  Sicily  transferred  to  the  emperor  and  Sar- 
dinia to  the  duke  of  Savoy;  in  return  he  was  acknowledged  by 
his  old  rival  as  king  of  Spain  and  the  Indies,  and  the  reversion  of 
the  two  Italian  principalities  was  entailed  on  the  issue  of  his  pres- 
ent marriage — on  the  condition,  however,  that  they  should  never 
be  united  with  the  Spanish  crown.  In  revenge,  and  because  he 
really  found  that  his  best  dependence  was  in  his  own  family, 
in  1 72 1  he  contracted  a  double  matrimonial  alliance  with  the 
hereditary  enemy  of  England ;  his  eldest  son  Luis  was  contracted 
with  Louise  Isabelle,  daughter  of  the  Due  d'Orleans  and  his 
daughter  Maria  Ana,  by  Isabel  Farnese,  with  the  youthful  mon- 
arch of  France.  The  latter  marriage,  however,  owing  to  the  tender 
age  of  the  infanta,  was  never  celebrated,  and  Luis  subsequently 
received  the  hand  of  a  Polish  princess,  a  daughter  of  the  exiled 
Stanislas  Leczinski.  Soon  after  this  marriage  he  formed  a  reso- 
lution which  filled  all  Europe  with  astonishment,  that  of  abdicating 
the  crown  in  favor  of  his  son  and  of  retiring  to  the  splendid  palace 
of  San  Ildefonso,  which  he  had  himself  founded.  The  decree  of 
abdication  was  dated  July  10,  1724,  and  Philip,  having  solemnly 
vowed  never  to  resume  the  crown,  retired  in  a  few  days  to  his 
chosen  retreat.  But  his  worldly  passions  never  forsook  him;  the 
feeble  health  of  Louis  XV.  afforded  him  the  prospect  of  soon 
succeeding  to  that  splendid  inheritance;  his  hopes  were  fostered  by 
his  queen,  who  detested  Spain,  and  was  detested  by  it  in  return ; 
nor  did  he  leave  to  his  son  more  than  a  nominal  authority.  The 
court  of  the  youthful  Luis  was  filled  with  his  own  creatures,  who 
paid  more  deference  to  him  than  to  their  new  monarch ;  nor  was 
anything  of  moment  undertaken  without  his  previous  sanction. 
The  irregularities  of  the  court  afforded  him  sufficient  pretext  for 
interference.  Philip  was  soon  disgusted  with  his  exclusion  from 
the  exercise  of  royalty,  especially  when  he  learned  that  the  decease 
of  the  French  king  was  not  so  probable  an  event  as  he  had  been 
led  to  anticipate;  his  own  son,  whose  conduct  was  filial  enough  in 
points  of  minor  importance,  submitted  with  impatience  to  the 
mandates  from  San  Ildefonso;  the  new  ministry  began  to  devise 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  409 

1724-1726 

the  removal  of  the  g-alhng  restraint,  when  the  death  of  Luis  (who 
by  will  declared  him  successor)  by  the  smallpox  again  induced 
him  to  claim  the  sovereignty. 

The  restoration  of  Philip  was  naturally  that  of  his  queen's 
policy — the  establishment,  by  treaty  or  force,  of  his  son  Don  Car- 
los in  the  Italian  principalities.  This,  with  other  objects,  had 
been  urged  in  the  congress  of  Cambray,  assembled  to  reconcile  the 
jarring  interests  of  the  European  powers ;  but  each  was  too  intent 
on  its  own  aggrandizement  to  plead  with  vigor  the  cause  of  an- 
other. Indignant  at  the  evident  lukewarmness  of  England,  France, 
and  Holland  in  a  matter  which  they  themselves  had  proposed  to 
advocate,  he  suddenly  swerved  from  his  past  policy  and  dis- 
patched an  ambassador  to  Vienna  to  obtain  from  the  emperor, 
hitherto  his  bitter  rival,  advantages  which  were  not  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  interested  delays  of  the  mediators.  The  person 
employed  in  this  mission  was  one  of  the  most  extraodinary 
characters  in  political  life.  The  Baron  de  Ripperda,  a  Catholic 
gentleman  of  Spanish  descent,  but  a  native  of  the  Netherlands, 
of  good  education  but  of  no  principle,  perceiving  that  his  religion 
was  a  barrier  to  his  ambition  in  his  native  country,  embraced  tlie 
Protestant,  and  was  returned  a  deputy  to  the  states-general.  Being 
selected  for  the  difficult  mission,  in  November,  1725,  he  Repaired 
secretly  to  Vienna  and  actively  commenced  his  conference  with  the 
imperial  ministers.  Early  in  the  following  year  three  treaties  were 
signed.  By  the  first  the  investiture  of  the  Italian  principalities 
was  insured  to  Don  Carlos,  and  in  return  Philip  abandoned  all 
claim  to  Naples  and  Sicily  and  consented  to  be  satisfied  with  the 
reversion  of  Sardinia.  By  the  second,  to  encourage  the  trade  of 
the  Netherlands  at  the  expense  of  England  and  Holland,  the  most 
favored  privileges  were  conferred  on  the  maritime  su1:»jects  of  the 
emperor  and  on  the  Hanse  l\nvns.  ^Flie  third  was  secret,  but  its 
articles  are  said  to  have  referred,  among  other  matters,  to  the 
forcible  recovery  of  Gibraltar,  and  to  tlie  restoration  of  James 
Stuart  to  the  English  throne.  In  addition,  a  marriage  was  doubt- 
less negotiated  l)etween  Don  Carlos  and  an  archdnchess,  but  it  was 
never  concluded. 

The  chief  remaining  transactions  of  this  eventful  reign  must 
be  related  with  greater  brevity.  iMjr  some  time  after  Spain  ad- 
hered to  the  German  alliance,  and  was  alternately  friendly  or 
adverse  to  England,  according  as  the  p(,ilicy  of  the  two  courts  liar- 


410  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1726-1735 

monized  or  varied.  Gibraltar  was  more  than  once  besieged,  but 
without  effect.  British  armaments  frequently  appeared  off  the 
Spanish  coast,  but  without  inflicting  much  injury.  As  the  em- 
peror was  naturally  averse  again  to  admit  the  Spaniards  into  Italy, 
and  sought  for  delays,  even  for  evasions,  in  fulfilling  his  compact, 
in  1729  the  treaty  of  Seville,  between  Spain,  England  and  France, 
broke  the  connection  between  the  courts  of  Vienna  and  Madrid. 
The  king  of  France  could  have  no  objection  to  see  a  Bourbon 
prince  in  possession  of  Parma  and  Tuscany;  the  transfer  of  com- 
mercial advantages  from  the  emperor's  subjects  to  the  English 
made  George  II.  no  less  favorable  to  the  succession  of  Don  Carlos 
in  right  of  his  mother,  the  Spanish  queen.  But  on  the  death  of 
Antonio,  duke  of  Parma,  the  emperor  seized  that  principality; 
and  England,  satisfied  with  the  gratification  of  her  sordid  interests, 
showed  no  disposition  until  Philip,  by  threatening  to  revoke  the 
commercial  advantages  secured  by  the  treaty  of  Seville,  forced  the 
English  king  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  Don  Carlos.  In  virtue  of 
his  efforts  and  the  assistance  of  France,  the  infante  was  soon 
invested  with  the  actual  possession  of  Parma  and  Placentia  and 
declared  successor  to  Tuscany.  But  the  emperor  evidently  medi- 
tated his  expulsion,  while  the  queen  of  Spain  was  far  from  satisfied 
with  the  recent  acquisitions.  As  England  evinced  a  disposition 
to  remain  on  good  terms  with  the  emperor,  the  Bourbons  adhered 
the  more  closely  to  each  other ;  the  kings  of  Spain,  France,  and  Sar- 
dinia entered  into  an  alliance  against  Austria.  It  was  now  that 
doubtful  measures  and  useless  treaties  were  succeeded  by  active 
and  extended  hostilities.  While  one  French  army  crossed  the 
Rhine  and  another  passed  the  Alps,  a  Spanish  army  under  Don 
Carlos  invaded  Naples  and  conquered  it  almost  without  an  effort. 
Sicily  was  next  reduced,  and  the  infante,  by  order  of  Philip,  was 
solemnly  crowned  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  By  the  treaty  of 
Vienna  in  1735  the  emperor,  whose  arms  had  been  almost  uni- 
formly unfortunate,  consented  to  acknowledge  Don  Carlos,  and 
in  return  he  received  Parma  and  Tuscany.  The  latter  condition 
was  highly  disagreeable  to  tb.e  Spanish  queen — for  in  these  Italian 
disputes  she  again  was  arbitress  of  the  national  policy — but  being 
forsaken  by  France,  she  was  compelled  to  submit. 

Omitting  the  petty  intrigues  in  the  cabinet  of  Madrid — tlie 
rise  of  one  worthless  favorite  or  the  ruin  of  anotlier — the  foreign 
transactions  of  the  countrv  continued  to  be  sufficiently  important. 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  411 

1735-1741 

England  was  soon  brought  into  hostile  collision  with  this  mon- 
archy. One  reason  was  the  jealousy  entertained  of  the  Bourbon 
family  by  the  recent  acquisition;  another  was  the  opposition 
thrown  in  the  way  of  English  commerce  by  the  ministers  of  Philip ; 
a  still  greater  was  the  contraband  traffic  which  England  resolved 
to  maintain  with  the  American  colonies — a  traffic  not  very  honor- 
able to  England  and  deeply  injurious  to  Spain.  But  Spain  had 
doubtless  the  greater  subject  of  complaint;  her  right  of  search 
arose  from  her  sovereignty,  and  had  been  confirmed  by  successive 
treaties;  but  it  was  suddenly  assailed  by  the  English  opposition, 
which,  as  in  other  cases,  had,  by  the  most  unprincipled  exaggera- 
tions, the  art  to  interest  the  nation  in  the  dispute.  The  fomenta- 
tion of  the  public  mind  drew  the  ministry,  though  with  evident  re- 
luctance, into  collision  with  Spain — a  melancholy,  but  alas!  far 
from  solitary  instance  of  the  influence  which  faction  can  exercise 
over  a  democratic  spirit,  in  violation  of  justice  or  even  of  oaths. 
War  was  first  declared  by  England ;  it  was  followed  in  Spain ;  the 
hostile  vessels  in  the  ports  of  each  were  confiscated  and  powerful 
armaments  fitted  out  by  the  one  to  seize,  by  the  other  to  defend  the 
American  possessions ;  while  pirates  from  Biscay  harassed  tlie 
home  trade  of  England,  In  the  wars  which  followed  the  advan- 
tage doubtless  rested  with  Spain,  since  the  English  armament 
made  little  impression  on  the  Spanish  colonies,  while  the  Spanish 
privateers  made  repeated  and  invaluable  captures.  Tlicse  hostili- 
ties, alike  desultory  and  inglorious,  notwithstanding  occasional 
exhibitions  of  brilliant  though  useless  valnr  by  the  l^iglish,  con- 
tinued during  the  life  of  Philip  and  until  the  fourth  year  of  his 
successor's  reign,  when  Spain,  in  return  for  the  secession  of  Eng- 
land from  the  Austrian  interests,  consented  to  a  renewal  of  the 
former  commercial  regulations. 

The  death  of  the  Emperor  Charles  VI.,  the  famous  competi- 
tor of  Philip,  without  male  issue,  stimulated  tliis  monarch,  as  it 
did  other  sovereigns,  to  acts  of  spoliation.  W'liiic  In'ivaria,  Sax- 
ony, Prussia,  and  Erance  each  pursued  its  advantage,  without  re- 
gard to  the  succession  which  each  had  guaranteed  to  tlie  deceased 
emperor,  he  looked  towards  Italy  in  searcli  of  an  cstablislimcnt 
for  the  infante  Felipe,  his  second  son  by  tlie  present  queen.  Hence 
all  Europe  was  engaged  in  war.  In  174T  an  army  was  sent  to 
Italy,  a  junction  effected  with  the  Xcapolitans.  and  the  combined 
forces   marched    into   Lomhardy.      But    several    circumstances   im- 


412  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1741-1746 

peded  the  success  of  the  Spanish  arms.  The  king  of  Sardinia 
joined  England  and  Austria ;  a  superior  force  expelled  Monte- 
mar,  the  Spanish  general,  from  his  position ;  a  British  squadron 
compelled  the  king  of  Naples  to  observe  neutrality,  and  the  troops 
of  that  power  were  consequently  recalled.  During  the  following 
years  the  war  sometimes  raged,  but  often  languished,  with  vari- 
ous success.  In  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1748  Spain  was 
disposed  to  lay  down  her  arms  by  the  cession  of  Parma,  Guastalla, 
and  Placentia  to  Don  Philip.  It  was,  however,  agreed  that  if 
he  ever  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Naples,  the  first  two  should 
revert  to  Austria  and  the  last  to  the  king  of  Sardinia. 

Before  the  conclusion  of  this  peace,  in  July,  1746,  an  attack 
of  apoplexy  hurried  Philip  to  the  grave.  His  character  is  apparent 
enough  from  his  actions ;  indeed,  it  requires  no  other  illustration. 
Whatever  might  be  his  general  weakness,  his  unconquerable  in- 
dolence, his  subjections  to  his  queens,  he  had  a  sincere  desire  for 
the  good  of  Spain,  and  in  part  that  desire  was  fulfilled.  Under  his 
rule  the  country  enjoyed  more  prosperity  than  it  had  experienced 
since  the  days  of  Philip  II.  Nor  was  he  deficient  in  a  taste  for 
literature.  He  founded  the  royal  library  of  Madrid,  the  royal 
Spanish  academy,  the  academy  of  history,  and  the  academy  of  San 
Fernando,  for  the  encouragement  of  the  fine  arts.  In  private 
life  he  was  a  model  for  princes ;  he  was  almost  spotless.  His  only 
fault,  let  us  rather  say  his  only  misfortune,  was  his  want  of  capacity 
for  the  station  he  occupied ;  he  would  have  been  an  admirable 
private  gentleman  or  an  exemplary  ecclesiastic. 

Ferdinand  VI.  (1746-1759).  second  son  of  the  deceased  mon- 
arch by  Maria  Luisa  of  Savoy  (the  fate  of  the  eldest,  Luis,  has 
already  been  related),  was  on  his  succession  in  his  thirty- fourth 
year.  Though  he  did  not  w-ant  natural  affection  for  his  step- 
brothers, he  was  not  to  be  controlled  by  the  queen-dowager,  whose 
influence  was  forever  at  an  end ;  nor  would  he  sacrifice  tlie  best 
interests  of  his  kingdom  to  provide  Italian  sovereignties  for  the 
infantes.  Hence,  as  related  towards  the  close  of  the  late  reign, 
he  consented  to  procure  peace  for  his  dominions  by  the  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  His  disposition  was  averse  to  war,  which,  as  he 
clearly  saw,  had  obstructed  the  career  of  the  national  improve- 
ment; nor  was  he  so  blind  as  to  be  ignorant  that  the  blood  and 
treasures  of  his  people  had  been  wasted  for  French  or  Austrian 
rather  than  Spanish  objects.     He  respected  the  king  of  France  as 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  413 

1746-1758 

the  head  of  his  house,  but  he  asserted  his  resolution  not  to  become 
the  viceroy  of  that  monarch.  If  to  this  we  add  that  he  was  a 
prince  of  honor,  of  integrity,  of  strict  veracity,  we  shall  have  said 
all  that  truth  will  permit  in  his  praise.  He  had  the  melancholy 
temperament,  the  incapacity,  the  indolence  of  his  father;  nor  was 
he  less  uxorious.  His  queen,  Maria  Teresa  Magdalena  Barbara, 
daughter  of  Joam  V.,  king  of  Portugal,  to  whom  he  had  been 
united  in  1729,  was  a  woman  of  engaging  manners  and  of  mild 
disposition,  but  avaricious. 

The  reign  of  Ferdinand  exhibits  little  more  than  a  contest 
between  the  British  and  French  agents  in  support  of  the  respective 
policy  of  their  nations.  The  minister  Carvajal  took  part  with  the 
former,  his  colleague  Ensenada  with  the  latter.  Can^ajal,  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  the  cabinet  of  Versailles,  drew  his  master 
into  an  alliance  with  Austria  and  Sardinia  for  securing  their 
neutrality — an  object  which  England  was  eager  to  promote.  On  the 
other  hand,  France  triumphed  by  opposing  the  infante  Felipe,  duke 
of  Parma,  and  Carlos,  king  of  Naples,  to  the  policy  of  their 
brother.  But  this  virtuous  minister  was  no  slave  of  Eng- 
land, no  blind  enemy  of  France.  In  the  disputes  between 
these  powers,  though  cajoled  and  flattered  and  attempted  to  be 
wheedled  into  the  views  of  each,  he  observed  a  dignified  neutrality, 
while  his  colleague  Ensenada  acted  with  all  tlie  heat  of  a  partisan. 
In  1754  his  death  dejected  the  English  as  much  as  it  elated  the 
hopes  of  the  Frencli,  since  it  was  considered  as  decisive  of  Ense- 
nada's  unlimited  control;  but  the  party  opposed  to  the  Gallic  in- 
fluence succeeded  in  procuring  the  nomination  to  the  foreign 
department  of  General  Wall,  an  Irisliman  naturahV.cd  in  Spain 
and  attached  to  England.  Soon  afterwards  Ensenada  himself 
was  disgraced.  But  Ferdinand  continued  to  observe  a  wise  and 
dignified  neutrality  in  the  European  war  occasi()ned  by  the  rivalry 
of  France  and  England.  Xot  even  the  ofl'cr  of  Minorca,  which 
the  French  conquered  from  the  English,  nor  that  of  assisting  in 
the  reduction  of  Gibraltar,  could  incline  the  court  in  favor  of  the 
Gallic  policy.  Equally  fruitless  was  the  offer  of  Gi1)raltar  by  the 
English  themselves,  as  the  condition  of  joining  the  confederacy 
against  France.  But  S(-)  mild  and  just  and  \irtuous  a  i)rince  was 
not  long  spared  to  Spain  and  to  Euro])e.  The  death  of  his  queen 
in  1758  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  his  mind  that  he  would 
never  afterwards  attend  to  either  affairs  of  state  or  the  ordinary 


414  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1759-1762 

enjoyments  of  life;  in  twelve  months  he  followed  her  to  the  tomb. 
As  he  died  without  issue,  he  left  the  crown  to  his  next  brother, 
Don  Carlos,  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies. 

By  the  treaty  of  Vienna  the  two  crowns  of  Naples  and  Spain 
were  never  to  be  placed  on  the  same  head;  hence  Carlos,  on  his 
accession  to  the  latter,  was  compelled  to  resign  the  other  in  favor 
of  a  son.  As  the  eldest,  Felipe,  was  a  constant  prey  to  mental 
imbecility,  the  second,  Carlos,  succeeded  to  the  rights  of  primo- 
geniture and  was  declared  heir  to  the  Spanish  monarchy;  while 
the  third,  Ferdinand,  was  hailed  as  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  Hav- 
ing appointed  a  council  of  regency  during  the  minority  of  Fer- 
dinand, Carlos  bade  adieu  to  his  former  subjects,  whom  his 
administration  had  strongly  attached  to  his  person,  embarked, 
landed  at  Barcelona,  the  inhabitants  of  which  he  gratified  by  the 
restoration  of  a  few  privileges,  and  proceeded  to  Madrid. 

When  Carlos  ascended  the  throne  in  1759  he  found  France 
and  Great  Britain  involved  in  a  war  which,  under  the  vigorous 
administration  of  William  Pitt,  later  first  Earl  of  Chatham, 
was  highly  disastrous  to  the  arms  of  Louis.  The  success 
of  the  English  displeased  him ;  he  bore  them  little  good-will ;  he 
remembered  the  obligation  to  neutrality  which  in  the  Italian 
war  they  had  forced  on  him ;  his  ears  were  deafened  with  the 
complaints  of  his  people  relative  to  the  contraband  trade  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  he  was  anxious  to  procure  for  his  nation  a  par- 
ticipation in  the  Newfoundland  fishery;  nor  was  he  without  his 
fears  lest  the  victors  should  turn  their  arms  against  his  richest 
settlements  in  the  new  world.  Unable  singly  to  contend  with  the 
rulers  of  the  deep,  he  directed  his  hopes  to  the  cooperation  of 
France.  That  power,  in  the  view  of  repairing  its  disasters,  was 
no  less  eager  to  make  common  cause  with  him.  The  result  w^as 
an  intimate  alliance,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Family  Compact, 
by  which  the  enemy  of  either  was  to  be  considered  the  enemy  of 
both,  and  neither  was  to  make  peace  without  the  consent  of  the 
other.  However  secret  the  articles,  they  were  suspected  by  Pitt, 
and  he  would  have  anticipated  Spain  by  a  declaration  of  war 
and  by  breaking  off  the  hollow  negotiations  which,  to  gain  time, 
France  had  commenced,  had  he  not  been  replaced  at  this  juncture 
by  a  court  favorite,  the  earl  of  Bute.  The  new  ministry  were 
made  the  dupes  of  the  Bourbon  courts ;  the  negotiations  were  art- 
fully prolonged  until  the  arrival  of  the  Spanish  treasures  from  the 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  415 

1763-1775 

Indies,  and  until  preparations  were  made  by  both  countries  to  carry 
on  the  war  with  vigor.  The  mask  was  then  dropped  and  hostihties 
invited.  However  despicable  the  EngHsh  ministry,  under  a  sov- 
ereign more  feeble  even  than  his  predecessors,  Pitt  had  given 
to  every  branch  of  the  public  service  a  vigor  which  in  the 
present  war  secured  the  triumph  of  English  arms.  In  the  West 
Indies  Havana,  in  the  East,  Manila,  were  taken ;  nor  were  the  allied 
French  and  Spanish  arms  successful  in  Portugal,  which  in  punish- 
ment of  its  connection  with  England  was  invaded  by  22,000  men 
under  the  Marquis  de  Soria.  They  could  only  take  Almeida  before 
they  were  compelled  to  retire  within  the  Spanish  territory.  In 
this  emergency  the  two  courts  turned  their  eyes  towards  peace, 
which  was  concluded  at  Paris,  February  10,  1763.  Omitting  the 
concessions  made  by  France,  Spain  purchased  the  restoration  of 
the  conquests  which  had  been  made  by  the  cession  of  Florida, 
by  the  permission  t'  cut  logwood  in  tlie  bay  of  Honduras  and 
by  a  renunciation  of  all  claim  to  the  Newfoundland  fisheries. 

These  unfavorable  conditions  were  not  likely  to  remove,  how- 
ever it  might  be  prudent  to  smother,  the  irritation  of  the  Span- 
iards. Meanwhile,  the  British  ambassadors  at  ^ladrid  were  no 
longer  treated  with  even  outward  respect.  The  occupation  of 
Corsica  by  the  troops  of  France,  the  expulsion  of  the  English  from 
the  Falkland  Islands,  were  direct  insults  to  England :  but  even 
greater  than  these  would  not  have  i)rc)cluced  a  war — so  low  had 
England  fallen  from  the  proud  eminence  she  occupied  at  the 
death  of  George  II.  That  Spain  was  inclined  to  war  is  evident 
from  the  whole  conduct  of  its  ministers,  but  the  desire  was  counter- 
acted by  the  internal  embarrassments  of  France — embarrassments 
which  were  silently  and  surely  preparing  tlie  way  for  the  tremen- 
dous revolution  that  followed.  Carlos  had  no  wish  to  sustain 
the  contest  alone;  and  he  was  satisfied  with  showing  luigland  that 
he  no  longer  feared  her.  Thus  affairs  continued  until  the  Conde 
de  Aranda  was  succeeded  by  the  Mar(|u:s  de  Grimaldi,  and  tlie 
latter  in  his  turn  by  the  Conde  de  Mori^la  P.Ianca.  when  luigland 
received  another  blow  through  her  ally.  l^Mrtugal.  The  vicinity 
of  the  territories  held  by  tlie  two  peninsular  kingdoms  on  tlie 
River  La  Plata  led  to  mutual  encroachments  rmd  disi)utcs.  In  1775 
Spain  suddenly  seized  tlie  district  bordering  ,,n  the  Sacramcnio; 
Portugal  retaliated  by  tlie  reduction  of  several  forts  on  tlie  Rio 
Grande;   an    expedition    from    Cadiz    rapidly    reduced    the    isle    of 


416  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1775-1778 

Santa  Catalina,  off  the  Brazilian  coast,  and  the  colony  of  the 
Sacramento.  These  successes,  the  death  of  Joseph,  king  of  Por- 
tugal ;  the  intrigues  to  exclude  his  daughter  in  favor  of  his  grand- 
son; the  support  of  the  former  by  Carlos,  and  her  consequent 
succession,  led  to  an  alliance  between  the  two  kingdoms  which, 
by  confirming  the  influence  of  Spain,  in  the  same  degree  weakened 
that  of  England;  in  fact,  Portugal,  the  queen-dowager  of  which 
was  the  sister  of  Carlos,  adhered  to  the  Family  Compact.  This 
alliance  was  accompanied  by  a  treaty  of  limits  which  fixed  the 
boundaries  of  Brazil,  Paraguay,  and  Peru — a  treaty  peculiarly 
favorable  to  the  views  and  interests  of  Spain, 

In  this  fortunate  position  of  affairs  the  enterprising  Florida 
Blanca  could  not  fail  to  watch  the  course  of  events,  in  the  reso- 
lution of  profiting  by  them.  The  progress  of  the  misunderstand- 
ing between  England  and  her  American  colonies  afforded  him  an 
opportunity  for  humbling  her  power  and  consequently  for  extend- 
ing that  of  his  own  country.  By  entering  into  an  alliance  with 
the  rebels  and  by  an  open  war  with  Britain,  France  at  once  in- 
dulged her  hereditary  enmity  and  secured  a  friend  in  the  rising 
states.  In  such  a  quarrel  the  Spanish  minister  surely  had  no  con- 
cern ;  he  could  not  wish  success  to  the  insurgents,  since  the  example 
would  probably  extend  to  the  South  American  colonies  and  prove 
no  less  disastrous  to  Spain  than  to  England.  Yet,  with  a  policy 
as  blind  as  it  was  vindictive,  he  persuaded  Carlos  to  concur  with 
France  in  behalf  of  the  revolted  colonies.  Under  the  pretext  that 
his  mediation — a  mediation  proposed  merely  as  the  forerunner  to 
a  rupture — was  slighted  by  Great  Britain,  Carlos  declared  war, 
procured  the  cooperation  of  a  French  fleet  and  caused  Gibraltar 
to  be  closely  invested.  Gibraltar,  though  garrisoned  with  no 
more  than  a  handful  of  men,  exhibited  a  defense  which  aston- 
ished all  Europe,  and  though  the  coasts  of  England  were  fre- 
quently insulted  by  the  appearance  of  a  hostile  flag,  no  descent 
followed.  These  fleets  were  not  long  suffered  to  exhibit  even 
these  ineffectual  bravadoes.  Having  retired  to  the  peninsular 
])orts,  one  of  tliem  was  defeated  by  Admiral  Rodney,  who  about 
the  same  time  had  the  good  fortune  to  capture  a  convoy  of  fifteen 
sail.  But  the  capture  of  a  British  merchant  fleet  by  the  enemy, 
the  loss  of  some  settlements  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  the  banks 
of  the  iMississippi  and  the  conquest  of  West  Florida  by  Galvez, 
an   enterprising   Spanish   ofiicer,    more   than   counterbalanced   this 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  417 

1778-1783 

advantage.  These  disasters  would  have  been  much  greater  had 
not  the  English  cabinet  contrived  to  spread  division  between  the 
two  allied  powers.  The  offer  of  Gibraltar — an  offer  made  with 
anything  but  sincerity — more  than  once  arrested  the  hostile  march 
of  Spain  and  led  to  secret  negotiations.  When  Florida  Blanca 
found,  to  his  mortification,  that  he  had  been  duped,  and  pushed 
the  war  with  new  vigor,  he  could  not  undo  the  mischief;  he  could 
not  recall  the  preparations  which  England  had  made.  He  had, 
however,  the  good  fortune  to  propose  the  famous  armed  neutral- 
ity, by  which  the  maritime  power  of  Europe  endeavored  to  anni- 
hilate the  naval  superiority  of  Britain ;  and  he  had  the  still  greater 
glory  of  recovering  Minorca.  Elated  by  this  success,  the  Bourbon 
ministers  dispatched  a  formidable  fleet  to  expel  the  English  from 
the  West  Indies,  while  their  allies,  the  Dutch,  in  concert  with 
Hyder  Ali,  strove  to  drive  the  same  enemy  from  the  Carnatic. 
But  the  French  admiral  De  Grasse  sustained  so  signal  a  defeat 
that  the  enterprise,  as  far  as  regarded  the  West  Indies,  was  aban- 
doned. In  the  meantime  the  blockade  of  Gibraltar  was  again  con- 
verted into  a  vigorous  siege,  and  a  grand  assault  was  made  by 
the  celebrated  floating  batteries,  aided  by  the  combined  naval 
powers  of  France  and  Spain.  But  the  attack  was  repelled  by 
General  Eliott  and  his  heroic  garrison  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cover 
the  allies  with  shame.  The  place  was  relieved,  and  though  the 
enemy  continued  before  it,  they  were  too  much  discouraged  to 
renew  a  hopeless  attempt.  To  England,  however,  the  war  was 
fatal;  the  American  colonies  obtained  their  independence.  Hum- 
bled and  discouraged,  the  ministry  now  made  propositions  for 
peace;  and  negotiations  for  the  purpose  were  opened  at  Paris. 
It  was  at  length  concluded,  on  terms  sufficiently  luimiliating  to 
the  British  nation.  She  surrendered  the  two  Floridas.  Minorca, 
Tobago,  and  Goree  on  the  African  coast,  consented  to  l)e  excluded 
from  the  greater  part  of  the  Gulf  of  ;Mexic()  and  to  admit  the 
French  to  a  participation  of  tlie  Newfoundland  fisheries;  while  in 
return  for  such  concessions  she  could  not  obtain  the  slightest 
advantage  for  regulating  her  trade  either  with  the  peninsula  or 
the  American  colonies. 

Advantageous  as  were  the  conditions  of  peace,  Carlos,  when 
his  resentment  towards  England  was  cooled,  could  not  fail  to  per- 
ceive the  impolicy  of  the  recent  war.  He  had  assisted  to  establish 
a  republic  on  the'^confines  of  his  Mexican  empire,  and  he  know  that 


418  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

17£3 

his  own  colonies  had  caught  the  same  fire  of  independence.  In  fact, 
he  had  soon  the  mortification  to  see  extensive  districts  in  South 
America  in  open  insurrection.  In  Peru  a  descendant  of  the  Incas 
had  httle  difficulty  in  collecting  60,000  men,  with  whom  he  took  the 
field. 

The  remaining  foreign  transactions  of  Carlos  may  be  shortly  dis- 
missed. His  treaty  with  the  sultan  of  Constantinople  and  with  tlie 
Barbary  states  freed  his  subjects  from  piratical  depredations  and  pro- 
cured them  commercial  advantages  in  the  Mediterranean  superior  to 
those  enjoyed  by  any  other  European  power.  In  Portugal,  where  his 
influence  was  confirmed  by  the  marriage  of  his  daughter  Carlotta 
with  the  infante  Joam,  afterwards  Joam  VI.,  he  procured  from 'the 
French  a  share  in  the  commercial  advantages  which  had  been  hith- 
erto exclusively  enjoyed  by  the  English.  In  an  equal  degree  was 
the  English  influence  impaired  in  Holland  by  the  ascendency  of  the 
Bourbon  courts.  But  as  he  grew  in  years  he  became  less  favorably 
disposed  towards  France,  and  more  willing  to  cultivate  a  good  un- 
derstanding with  England.  Alluding  to  the  unprincipled  intrigues 
and  faithless  usurpations  of  the  former  power,  he  gradually  weaned 
himself  from  it  and  was  wont  to  declare  that  every  established 
government  should  build  a  wall  of  brass  to  prevent  the  entrance  of 
French  principles. 

The  internal  administration  of  Carlos  was  not  less  signal  than 
his  foreign  policy.  It  exhibfts  many  novelties,  of  which  some  were 
highly  beneficial,  while  others  were  odious  to  the  people.  So  long 
as  the  efforts  of  his  ministers  were  confined  to  the  improvement  of 
commerce  and  agriculture ;  to  cleansing  and  lighting  the  streets ;  to 
the  construction  and  repairs  of  the  roads ;  to  the  reorganization  of 
the  police,  and  amplification  of  the  public  revenues,  they  were 
cheered  by  the  popular  approbation ;  but  when  flapped  hats  and 
long  cloaks — those  screeners  of  assassination — vv'ere  prohibited,  a 
loud  outcry  was  raised  against  the  introduction  of  foreign  customs. 
It  may,  however,  be  doubted  whether  any  open  riot  would  have 
followed  had  not  the  populace  been  excited  by  the  arts  of  certain 
unknown  intriguers,  whose  sole  object  appears  to  have  been  the 
destruction  of  the  ministry.  That  this  commotion  was  a  political 
intrigue  was  no  less  the  conviction  of  the  king  than  of  his  ministers, 
and  his  suspicions  fell  on  the  Jesuits  and  on  some  of  his  grandees. 
The  latter  were  too  powerful  to  be  punished,  Init  the  poor  fathers 
of  Jesus,  who  lived  not  merelv  innocent,  but  extremelv  meritori- 


HOUSE     OF     BOURBON  419 

1764-1773 

oiis,  lives,  were  sacrificed  to  the  machinations  of  their  enemies. 
Some  years  preceding-,  on  a  charge  as  destitute  of  foundation,  they 
had  been  expelled  from  Portugal:  in  1764  their  inveterate  foe, 
the  Duke  de  Choiseul,  minister  of  Louis  XV.,  had  driven  them 
from  France;  and  in  Spain  their  possessions  were  regarded  with 
an  avaricious  eye  by  some  of  the  needy  courtiers.  To  effect  their 
downfall  the  French  minister  eagerly  joined  with  the  advocates  of 
plunder,  and  intrigues  were  adopted  which  must  cover  their  authors 
with  everlasting  infamy.  The  decree  for  their  expulsion,  addressed 
to  the  governors  of  the  provinces,  was  secretly  signed  and  trans- 
mitted; at  a  given  hour  of  the  night  their  colleges  v/ere  surrounded 
by  troops ;  the  members  of  each  community  were  assembled ;  the 
decree  hastily  read  to  them :  a  few  minutes  only  were  allowed  them 
to  collect  their  breviaries,  linen,  and  a  few  conveniences ;  the  gates 
were  then  closed  and  tiiey  were  hurried,  in  separate  companies,  to 
the  carriages  which  awaited  them,  conveyed  to  the  coast  and  em- 
barked for  Italy.  But  the  cup  of  their  sufferings  was  not  yet  full. 
The  governor  of  Civita  Vecchia  would  not  allow  them  to  disemljark 
until  the  pope's  pleasure  was  known.  Clement  refused  to  admit 
them,  under  the  plea  that  if  they  were  to  be  expelled  from  all  the 
countries  of  Europe  Ins  dominions  would  be  too  narrow  to  contain 
them.  During  three  months  were  they  the  sport  of  the  waves,  of 
the  tempests,  and  of  passions  still  more  boisterous.  At  length  they 
were  permitted  to  land  in  Corsica,  were  hurried  like  so  many  bales 
of  goods  to  the  commercial  depots,  and  there  left,  without  beds  or 
provisions,  until  the  pope  granted  the  few  survivors  permission  to 
settle  in  Italy,  and  until  the  king  of  Spain  allowed  each  a  pension 
of  about  one  shilling  a  day.  This  odious  persecution  was  not  con- 
fined to  Spain :  it  raged  at  the  same  time  in  the  most  distant  colonies 
• — in  Buenos  Ayres  and  Paraguay,  as  well  as  in  the  Philippine 
Islands. 

In  most  other  respects  the  internal  administration  of  Carlos  was 
one  of  unmixed  good.  The  increase  of  the  stanJing  army,  a  force 
absolutely  necessary,  not  nierely  for  the  national  defense,  but  for 
the  preservation  of  domestic  tranquillity;  its  improved  discipline;  a 
judicious  organization  of  the  police;  the  restriction  of  ecclesiastical 
immunities  in  such  cases  as  were  incompatible  with  the  well-being 
of  the  people;  the  cirnnnscription  of  the  i)owcrs  of  the  in([uisition ; 
an  attempt  to  colc^nizc  the  Sierra  ?^lorena;  the  establishment  of 
schools  to  supply  the  void  left  by  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits,  sig- 


420  SPAIN     AND    PORTUGAL 

1773-1783 

nalized  the  administration  of  the  Conde  de  Aranda.  The  same  re- 
forms were  extended  or  improved  by  the  Conde  de  Florida  Blanca, 
who  added  others  of  even  superior  importance.  The  encouragement 
of  agriculture,  commerce  and  the  useful  arts  of  life ;  a  radical  change 
in  the  intercourse  of  Spain  with  her  colonies;  a  considerable  aug- 
mentation in  the  returns  of  the  mines,  in  the  customs,  in  every 
branch  of  the  revenue;  the  introduction  of  new  manufactures  and 
the  encouragement  of  such  as  were  already  established ;  the  facilita- 
tion of  intercourse  by  means  of  new  roads  and  canals  between  the 
great  marts  of  Spain;  and  numerous  reforms  in  the  forms  of  judicial 
process  and  in  the  responsibility  of  the  judges,  were  a  few  of  the 
many  benefits  conferred  by  this  great  minister  on  his  country. 

Don  Carlos  died  at  the  close  of  the  year  1788  at  a  good  old 
age.  From  the  vigor  of  his  constitution  he  would  doubtless  have 
lived  longer  had  he  not  been  affected  by  the  precarious  state  of  his 
relations  in  France,  by  the  loss  of  his  son  Don  Gabriel,  of  his 
daughter-in-law  Dofia  Maria  of  Portugal,  and  of  their  infant. 
He  was  a  prince  of  consid*erable  talents,  of  excellent  intentions,  and 
of  blameless  morals.  In  his  public  character  his  best  praise  is  to 
be  found  in  the  fact  that,  through  his  ministers,  he  introduced  a 
degree  of  prosperity  to  which  his  people  had  been  strangers  since 
the  days  of  Philip  II.  In  private  life  his  example  afforded  no  en- 
couragement to  licentiousness,  and  as  he  was  severe  towards  him- 
self, he  was  naturally  so  towards  others.  By  his  queen  Amelia,  a 
princess  of  Saxony,  he  left  issue:  Felipe  Pascal,  excluded  through 
natural  imbecility;  Carlos,  his  successor,  imprisoned  and  forced  to 
abdicate  by  Bonaparte;  Ferdinand,  king  of  Naples  and  Sicily. 
There  were  four  other  sons,  but  these  preceded  him  to  the  tomb. 


Chapter    XVI 

GENERAL   CONDITION   OF  THE   MONARCHY 

1516-17&8 

IN  the  decline  of  the  Spanish  kingdom  under  the  house  of 
Austria  and  its  restoration  under  the  Bourbons  it  is  well  to 
note  the  general  condition  of  the  monarchy  with  the  causes 
that  led  to  it,  in  the  various  reigns  from  the  first  to  the  third 
Carlos. 

Under  the  emperor  the  condition  of  Spain  was  more  splendid, 
perhaps  also  more  prosperous,  than  in  any  prior  or  subsequent 
reign.  Though  he  was  engaged  in  so  many  wars,  the  people  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  overburdened  in  supporting  them:  the 
treasures  of  the  New  World  and  the  ordinary  contributions  were 
generally  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  The  circulation  of  so  much 
wealth,  and  the  vast  markets  opened  for  Spanish  productions  in 
the  Americas,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  national  industry.  Hence 
labor  was  in  constant  demand,  and  adequately  remunerated.  But 
the  happiness  even  of  this  bright  period  had  its  drawbacks.  The 
nobles  held  a  power  over  the  people,  which,  though  not  recognized 
by  the  new  jurisprudence,  was  founded  on  the  Visigothic  code,  and 
was  consecrated  by  immemorial  custom.  If  we  may  believe  the 
histories  of  the  period  and  tlie  representations  of  the  Cortes,  it 
was  often  exercised  with  violence,  with  rapacity,  with  injustice. 
The  wars  which  followed  must  have  operated  in  a  most  baneful 
degree  on  the  national  prosperity, — and  tliey  were  no  less  useless 
than  baneful.  They  did  not  shake  tlie  power  of  tlie  aristocracy, 
while  thev  confirmed  that  of  the  crown.  Tlie  dissatisfaction 
of  the  third  estate  was  still  further  increased  by  the  fact  that  on 
them  alone  rested  the  burden  of  tlie  public  contribution.  Both  the 
nobles  and  the  clergv,  the  former  in  virtue  of  tlicir  scignorinl  rights, 
the  latter  of  their  immum'ties.  were  exempted  from  direct  taxes. 
Though  this  unjust  distinction  would  operate  with  less  severity  in  a 
season  of  general  prosperity,  it  would  be  oppressive  to  many,  and  its 
odious  partiality  could  not  fad  to  be  condemned  by  all  who  suffered 


42J2  SPAIN     AND     T  O  R  T  U  G  A  L 

1516-1788 

by  it.  Moreover  Spain  had  few  native  capitalists.  Tlie  nobles 
seemed  to  live  by  traffic :  the  laborers,  artisans,  mechanics,  were  too 
poor  to  purchase  their  native  produce  or  manufactures  and  dispose 
of  it  to  the  foreign  merchant ;  and  there  was  no  middle  class  to  serve 
as  a  connecting  link  between  the  two.  Yet  such  a  link  was  indis- 
pensable, and  it  was  supplied  by  foreign  enterprise.  English, 
French,  Dutch,  Germans,  Italians,  hastened  to  profit  by  the  absurd 
pride  of  one  class,  and  the  poverty  of  another:  they  absorbed  the 
chief  gain;  they  amassed  considerable,  in  some  cases  princely 
fortunes,  which  they  afterwards  expended,  not  in  Spain,  but  in 
their  own  countries. 

The  ignorance  of  the  government  as  to  the  true  sources 
of  national  prosperity  is  another  of  the  causes  which  led  to  its 
decline.  That  native  manufactures  were  not  encouraged  is 
sufficiently  notorious  from  the  fact  that  while  they  were  sub- 
ject to  many  duties  on  their  introduction  into  other  countries 
of  Europe, — duties  which  almost  amounted  to  an  exclusion, — 
those  of  foreigners  were  admitted  into  the  Peninsula  either  with- 
out any  or  with  very  light  ones :  hence  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
reciprocity,  and  the  advantages  of  traffic  must  inevitably  remain 
with  more  cunning  nations.  Still,  the  New  World  opened  a  bound- 
less market  to  Spanish  productions  of  every  species,  so  that  the 
mischiefs  of  this  deplorable  policy  were  not  much  felt,  however 
tlieir  tendency  might  be  perceived,  in  the  present  reign.  Though 
American  money  was  freely  diffused  throughout  the  community,  its 
abundance  had  the  inevitable  effect  of  impairing  its  value,  and  that 
to  an  extent  unexampled  in  any  other  country.  This  fact  is  suffi- 
ciently proved  by  the  rapid  increase  in  the  price  of  provisions  and 
other  necessaries,  which  from  1480  to  1530  had  quintupled.  Gold 
could  not  always  be  thus  abundant,  jNIoreover,  so  long  as  money 
retained  its  ancient  vakie,  the  fine  of  a  few  maravcdis — and  in  an 
earlier  section  of  this  compendium  we  have  seen  that  the  most  or- 
dinary punishments  were  pecuniar}^  mulcts — would  always  operate 
as  a  preventive  of  crime ;  but  when  it  Avas  reduced  to  one-fifth,  those 
mulcts,  which  ought  to  have  been  quintupled,  remained  at  the  same 
stanclarcl.^  Hence  fines  lost  their  rigor,  and  crimes  naturally  became 
nKjrc  frequent. 

"  Qnintuplcd,  we  mean,  in  half  a  century.  But  the  evil  went  fartlier  liack : 
tl'.c  ])L'cnniary  nnikts  of  the  thirteenth  century  were  those  of  the  sixteenth,  when 
thj  ilii;cre!icc  in  ihe  vahiic  of  money  was  as   10  to  i. 


G  E  N  I]  R  A  L     CO  N  D  I  T  I  O  N  423 

1516-17S8 

The  acquisition  of  land  by  the  church  would  not  be  felt  as  an 
evil  during  the  supremacy  of  the  ancient  system,  when  military 
service  and  the  ordinary  contributions  were  as  mucli  required  from 
ecclesiastics  as  from  la^Tnen.  But  when  the  new  jurisprudence 
superseded  the  other;  when  churchmen  could  no  longer  serve  the 
state  either  by  contributions  or  in  person ;  wh.en,  too,  tlie  property 
which  had  been  granted  for  such  service  could  neither  be  alienated 
nor  sold,  when  the  possessions  of  the  church  increased  in  an  alarm- 
ing degree,  in  the  same  degree  diminisherl  the  resources  of  the 
state.  Hence  the  monarchs  of  Castile  and  Leon  found  it  expedient 
to  issue  prohibitions  against  the  alienation  of  lands  to  ecclesias- 
tical purposes ;  and  no  man  v/ho  entered  the  cloister  or  served  at 
the  altar  was  permitted  to  take  with  him  more  tlian  a  fifth  even 
of  his  movable  property.  In  effect  this  was  only  a  partial  check, 
and  private  wealth  continued  to  be  diverted  from  tlie  state. 

Under  tlie  ancient  system,  majorats  were  unknown :  lands,  on 
the  death  of  the  holder,  reverted  to  the  crown;  entails  with  primo- 
genital  rights  were  not  in  force  until  the  thirteenth  century,  when 
Alonso  el  Sabio,  in  his  code  of  the  Partidas,  sanctioned  their  use. 
It  is  indeed  true  that  long  before  the  time  of  that  legislator 
children  could  inherit:  but  the  father  liad  full  control  over  his 
property;  he  could  divide  it  among  tliem.  or  bequeath  it  even  to 
the  youngest;  or  he  could  sell  it,  and  divide  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  in  whatever  proportion  lie  pleased.  But  niiblc  families,  afraid 
of  being  reduced  in  tiie  course,  perhaps  of  a  single  generation,  to 
comparative  poverty — of  their  names  and  characters  being  lost 
among  men — anxiouslv  turned  tlicir  attention  to  inalienations  in 
their  first-born  son.s,  or,  in  default  of  them,  in  their  collateral 
kindred.  Hence,  when  lands  became  inalienable  in  the  representa- 
tive of  a  familv.  tliere  arose  a  species  of  mortmain,  as  mncli  as  in 
the  church.  In  one  res])ect,  indeed,  there  was  an  essential  differ- 
ence: tlie  property  thus  transmitted  was  still  liable  to  the  exigencies 
of  tlie  state.  But  in  others  it  was  scnrcely  less  inir.rious.  As  the 
possessor  ceased  to  be  the  pr(M:»rictor.  and  was  coni;ned  to  the  usu- 
fruct, unless  his  heir  happene;l  to  he  a  favorite  son  he  was  not 
very  anxious  to  incur  the  cx])ense  r^f  inijirovcnicn's  the  advantage 
of  which  lie  could  not  live  long  enough  to  enjoy,  and  which  might, 
perhaps,  pass  to  a  disoh.cdicnt  child  or  to  a  stranger.  Hence,  in 
many  instances  the  l^i-^'l  was  in'ulo;jr';iciy  cti'iivatcd. 

The  dispute^  of  C'lrlos  witli   the  ])o]k'<  were  also  among  th.- 


4i24.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1516-1788 

causes  of  the  national  decline.  Incensed  at  his  attempts  at  ecclesi- 
astical restraint,  and  apprehensive  of  his  aspiring  to  universal 
empire,  they  formed  league  after  league  against  him,  compelling 
him  to  waste  on  foreign  objects  the  treasures  which  should  have 
been  applied  to  the  amelioration  of  Spain.  But  this  was  not  the 
worst  evil.  In  these  disputes  many  of  the  clergy,  and  some  of  the 
nobles,  took  part  with  the  Holy  See,  while  others  espoused  the  side 
of  the  king.  The  former  soon  learned  to  consider  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  head  of  the  church  as  superior  to  those  which  they 
owed  to  that  of  the  state:  hence  the  collisions  of  interests  and 
opinions,  by  which  patriotism  and  the  social  bond  were  weakened. 
Let  us  not,  however,  shut  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  if  the  ecclesi- 
astic domains  had  been  vested  in  the  crown,  they  would  have  been 
seldom  conferred  as  rewards  of  merit;  they  would  in  a  majority 
of  cases  have  been  made  to  enrich  worthless  courtiers.  The 
privileges  and  wealth  of  the  church  could  not  fail  to  multiply  the 
number  of  its  ministers  and  priests  to  an  extent  far  beyond  the 
necessity  of  the  demand.  The  rich  were  anxious  to  educate  their 
sons  for  a  state  which  held  out  such  powerful  inducements  to  tem- 
poral ambition ;  even  the  poorest, — and,  to  the  honor  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  be  it  spoken,  the  priesthood,  as  well  as  the  mo- 
nastic profession,  has  ever  been  open  to  the  very  lowest  classes, — 
while  earning  their  own  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  had  the 
satisfaction  to  know  that  in  the  church  they  could  secure  for  their 
sons  the  comforts  of  life.  But  this  multiplication  of  religious 
orders  had  political  effect:  it  abstracted  from  the  number  of  pro- 
ductive hands;  it  added  to  the  burdens  of  the  community;  it 
deprived  the  country  of  so  many  defenders. 

The  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Philip  11.  exhibits  the 
same  generally  prosperous  state  of  things  as  that  of  his  father. 
Some  of  the  causes  which  we  assigned  for  Spanish  decline  were, 
indeed,  in  full  operation,  but  their  influence  was  not  yet  felt,  and 
the  mischief  of  others  was  counterbalanced  by  accidental  circum- 
stances. This  great  monarch — for  such  he  really  was — had  a  judg- 
ment much  more  solid,  much  less  liable  to  be  misled,  than  the 
emperor;  and  for  some  years  he  consulted  the  welfare  of  his  people 
with  perseverance  and  success.  The  acquisition  of  Portugal  and 
of  tlie  Philippine  Islands  augmented  his  resources,  and  conse- 
quently his  power.  But,  if  his  policy  in  regard  to  the  conquered 
kingdom  was  humane  and  enlightened,  he  overlooked  some  obvious 


GENERAL     CONDITION  425 

1516-1788 

considerations.  Had  he  fixed  his  court  permanently  at  Lisbon,  he 
would  have  secured  Portugal  forever.  That  city,  too,  was  far 
better  fitted  to  be  the  capital  of  a  great  kingdom  than  the  inland 
town  of  Madrid.  Situated  near  the  sea,  commanding  the  best  facili- 
ties for  communication  with  the  colonies  of  the  east  and  west,  and 
for  general  traffic,  it  surely  deserved  the  preference  over  a  place 
which  is  almost  inaccessible,  which  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  sterile 
plain,  and  has  not  one  navigable  river  within  its  reach.  Having 
created  three  officers, — a  chronicler  and  historian  of  Castile,  and  , 
a  cosmographer  of  the  Indies, — he  diligently  endeavored  to  pro- 
cure even  the  minutest  details  relating  to  the  resources  and  statis- 
tics of  his  dominions.  The  result  of  these  inquiries  has  probably 
perished, — if  we  except  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  portion,  of 
which,  fortunately,  we  have  an  abstract.  From  this  return  it  ap- 
pears that  in  all  the  dominions  of  Philip, — in  Milan,  Parma,  Na- 
ples, Sicily,  Sardinia,  the  Netherlands,  Portugal,  as  well  as  in 
Spain,  in  the  vast  colonial  empire  both  of  Spain  and  of  Portugal, — 
the  number  of  archbishoprics  was  58,  of  bishoprics  684,  of  abbeys 
11,400,  of  chapters  936,  of  parishes  127,000,  of  religious  hospitals 
7,000,  of  religious  orders  and  confraternities  (friars,  etc.)  23,000, 
of  monasteries  46,000,  of  nunneries  13,500,  of  secular  priests  312,- 
000,  of  monks  400,000,  of  friars  and  other  ecclesiastics  200,000. 
The  civil  functionaries  nominated  by  the  king  amounted  to  80,083, 
the  viceroys  and  inferior  authorities  to  367,000.  Prodigious  as 
these  numbers, — those  of  tlie  ecclesiastics  especially, — may  appear, 
they  will  not  be  deemed  so  extraordinary  when  we  consider  that  the 
scepter  of  Philip  extended  over,  perhaps,  100,000,000  of  human 
beings.  At  this  time  the  state  of  the  peninsular  population  was 
one  of  comparative  comfort.  Agriculture,  manufactures,  and  com- 
merce flourished  to  an  extent  even  greater  than  in  the  best  period 
of  the  emperor's  reign.  At  Toledo,  Segovia,  and  in  the  district 
of  La  Mancha  the  number  occupied  in  woolens  and  silks  was 
127,823,  and  Seville  had  30,000.  The  monarcli  was  enlight- 
ened enough  to  perceive,  and  patriotic  enough  to  pursue,  the  in- 
terests of  his  people:  nor  was  he  less  the  friend  of  science.  It 
must  have  been  at  no  little  expense  that  the  eminent  Ilerrera  trav- 
ersed the  most  interesting  regions  of  tlie  New  World,  to  collect 
whatever  was  curious  or  valuable  in  natural  history. 

But    these    vast    resources    were    unforlnnatcly    wasted    by 
Philip:   and   his   own   unwise   policy   destroyed   tlic    very    founda- 


426  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1516-1783 

tions  on  which  they  rested.  His  continued  persecution  of  the 
Flemings  and  Dutch  led  to  the  revolt  of  these  important  prov- 
inces,— a  revolt  which,  though  he  expended  150,000,000  of 
ducats,  he  vainly  attempted  to  repress.  The  insurgents  did  more 
than  waste  the  treasures  and  blood  of  his  people  by  their 
successful  resistance:  they  captured  his  vessels,  and  fitted  out 
ships  of  their  own,  to  injure  his  commerce  in  the  east  and 
west.  The  war  with  England  was  no  less  disastrous.  Omitting 
the  loss  of  the  invincible  armada,  the  English  admirals  captured 
his  fleets,  both  in  the  West  Indies  and  on  the  west  of  the  Peninsula ; 
insulted  and  sometimes  sacked  his  towns.  The  treasures  sent 
to  support  the  Catholic  league  of  France  and  the  wars  in  other 
quarters, — all  undertaken  as  much  for  the  interests  of  religion 
as  of  ambition, — exhausted  the  remaining  resources  of  Philip. 
The  subjugation  of  the  Moriscos  in  the  kingdom  of  Granada — a 
war  no  less  religious  in  this  monarch's  view  than  the  preceding — 
had  a  worse  effect  than  the  impoverishment  of  the  finances :  it  was 
followed  by  the  banishment  of  many  productive  subjects  to  the 
African  coast.  The  proceedings  of  the  inquisition,  which  were 
often  directed  against  the  most  useful  of  the  people — ]\Ioham- 
medans,  Jews,  and  heretics, — would  exercise  an  influence  more 
fatal  than  is  generally  ascribed  to  them.  If  to  these  causes  of  de- 
cline we  add  that  those  enumerated  in  the  preceding  reign  were 
also  at  work,  we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  believing  that,  towards 
the  close  of  Philip's  life,  not  only  the  treasury,  but  the  nation,  must 
have  been  impoverished.  From  a  review  of  all,  it  is  certain  that 
his  misfortunes  and  disasters  arose  from  his  attachment  to  the 
established  faith.  These  divisions  between  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  authority    inevitably  weakened  the  kingdom. 

The  reign  of  Philip  III.,  surnamed,  from  his  piety,  the  Good, 
w^as  the  golden  age  of  churchmen.  Though  religious  foundations 
were  already  numerous,  great  additions  were  made  to  them, 
and  in  those  which  already  existed  new  altars  or  chancels  were 
erected.  Thus,  the  Duke  of  Lerma  founded  seven  monasteries  and 
two  collegiate  churches :  thus,  also,  the  diocese  of  Calahorra  num- 
bered 18.000  chaplains.  Seville  14,000.  Such  a  state  of  things  is 
in  sharp  contrast  to  a  view  of  the  temporal  affairs  of  the 
nation,  which  were  never  before  in  so  deplorable  a  condition.  For 
the  independence  of  the  Netherlands  was  wrung  from  the  crown. 
The  Moriscos. — the  most  active,  the  most  enterprising,    rmd    tlit 


GENERAL     CONDITION  427 

1516-1788 

most  useful  portion  of  the  people, — were  banished,  to  the  irrep- 
arable detriment  of  the  national  resources,  and  as  the  productive 
classes  decreased,  so  did  the  native  capitalists,  until  the  remaining 
traffic  was  almost  wholly  in  the  hands  of  strangers;  and  so  also, 
correspondingly  diminished  the  royal  revenues,  which  scarcely 
reached  14,000,000  ducats,  that  is.  about  half  the  amount  at  the 
commencement  of  the  second  Philip's  reign.  In  a  degree  still  more 
baneful  to  secular  interests  increased  the  revenues  of  the  church, 
and  the  number  of  professed  religious,  to  the  serious  injury  of  a 
population  already  inadequate  for  the  purposes  of  agricultiu-e. 
Still  justice  demands  the  admission  that  this  increase  of  church 
property  was  not  without  its  good. 

Under  Philip  IV.  the  condition  of  Spain  still  declined,  and 
with  increasing  rapidity.  In  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  the  conde, 
Duke  of  Olivares,  his  minister,  attempted,  as  before  related,  some 
reforms ;  but  they  were  reforms  which  merely  produced  an  artificial 
augmentation  of  the  royal  revenue,  and  left  untouched  the  evils  of 
the  country.  As  monuments  of  his  administration,  the  weak  and 
flagitious  Olivares  was  doomed  to  see  the  trade  of  Toledo  ruined, 
with  the  decay  of  one-third  of  its  population;  that  of  Segovia, 
Burgos,  and  La  Mancha  reduced  to  one-tenth  its  former  magni- 
tude. Medina  del  Campo,  which  could  formerly  boast  of  5,000 
families  possessed,  if  not  of  affluence,  at  least  of  comforts,  was 
now  reduced  to  500  sunk  in  poverty.  In  the  archbishopric  of 
Granada  400  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets  were  reduced  to  260; 
and  the  bishopric  of  Avila  lost  65  baptismal  fonts.  In  Seville,  for- 
merly the  most  opulent  and  flourishing  city  of  Spain,  the  number 
of  rich  manufacturers  is  said  to  have  decreased  to  one-twentieth, 
and  the  population  to  less  than  one-half.  The  Catalan  insurrection, 
and  the  declaration  of  independence  by  Portugal ;  the  interminable 
wars  to  which  both  events  led;  the  loss  of  Ronssillon,  Conflans,  a 
part  of  Cerdaiia,  and  of  Jamaica;  the  annihilation  of  Spanish  trade 
in  tlie  Inrlies  by  the  Dutch ;  the  reverses  of  tlic  Spanisli  arms  in 
Italy  and  the  Low  Countries, — were  not  likely  to  console  the  people 
for  the  mischiefs  of  a  ruinous  administration,  and  of  universal 
bankruptcy. 

Still  descending  in  the  scale  of  degradation,  we  come  to  the 
reign  of  Carlos  II.  Under  him  tlie  walls  of  all  the  fortresses,  says 
the  Marquis  de  San  ]'\'hpe.  were  cninil)ling  int(i  ruins;  even  the 
breaches  made  in  those  of  Barcelona  (hiring  ilie  Catalan  rebellion 


428  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1516-1788 

continued  open:  at  Rosas  and  Cadiz  there  was  no  garrison,  and 
no  guns  mounted.-  In  the  ports  of  Biscay  and  Gahcia,  the  great 
arsenals  for  the  navy,  the  very  art  of  constructing  vessels  had  fallen 
into  oblivion :  the  arsenals  and  magazines  were  empty ;  the  fleet,  if 
we  except  a  few  merchantmen  trading  to  the  Indies,  consisted  of 
six  rotten  frigates  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Carthagena ;  seven, 
in  addition,  were  furnished  by  Genoa.  The  army  was  not  much 
superior  to  the  marine;  no  more  than  20,000  men  could  be  num- 
bered, and  of  these  not  half  were  fit  for  service.  Such  was  the 
condition  to  which  the  Austrian  princes  had  reduced  this  once 
mighty  monarchy.  It  was,  indeed,  time  to  change  the  dynasty; 
another  such  reign   and  society  must  have  been  dissolved. 

Notwithstanding  the  severe  wars  in  which,  during  a  period  of 
fourteen  years,  Philip  V.  the  Bourbon  was  involved,  and  which, 
under  his  immediate  predecessors,  would,  beyond  doubt,  have 
completed  the  ruin — and  the  hopeless  ruin — of  the  monarchy,  he 
gave  to  Spain  a  degree  of  positive  prosperity  unknown  since 
the  reign  of  the  second  Philip.  By  the  reduction  of  the 
interest  on  the  debts  of  the  crown  from  five  to  three  per  cent. ; 
by  revoking  the  profuse  grants  of  territories  and  revenues 
made  by  his  predecessors :  by  creating  efficient  officers,  whom 
he  made  responsible  for  the  collection  of  the  duties  and  con- 
tributions :  and  by  abolishing  useless — which  are  always  the 
most  expensive — places;  by  introducing  a  vigorous  system  into 
the  general  administration :  by  a  new  impulse  given  to  trade  and 
manufactures, — his  ministers  increased  his  revenues  sixfold.  All 
Europe  was  astonished  to  see  that  in  eighteen  years  he  could  muster 
a  fleet  not  inferior  to  the  famous  armada  which  had  failed  against 
Britain.  Nor,  as  observed  in  the  history  of  his  reign,  was  he 
inattentive  to  literature,  which  he  restored  to  a  degree  beyond  any 
we  could  have  supposed  possible,  considering  the  utter  degradation 
in  which  it  had  lain  from  the  time  of  Philip  III.  But  the  chief 
glories  of  Philip's  administration  concern  his  civil  government — 
the  knowledge  and  application  of  the  internal  resources.  He  in- 
stituted a  commission  to  inquire  into  the  population,  the  agricul- 
ture, the  manufactures,  and  trade  of  each  district ;  but  some  causes 
— probably  his  own  laziness — prevented  the  termination  of  his 
labors. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  Ferdinand  VT.  this  commission  was 
renewed,  and  its  operations  conducted  to  a  close.     Some  of  the 


GENERAL     CONDITION  429 

1516-1788 

details  which  it  laid  before  the  royal  council  are  highly  interesting, 
as  exhibiting  the  relative  possessions  of  the  lay  and  clerical  orders. 
From  a  summary  of  facts,  it  appears  that  the  secular  state  held 
61,196,166  measures  of  land;  the  church,  12,209,053;  that  the 
revenues  arising  from  the  former  were  817,232,098  reals;  ^  of  the 
latter,  161,392,700;  that  the  house  rental  of  lay  proprietors  was 
252,086,009;  of  the  clerical,  including  tithes,  first  fruits,  etc.,  164,- 
154.498;  the  former  derived  from  cattle  a  return  of  29,006,238, 
the  latter  of  2,933,277 ;  to  the  former,  manufactures  and  com- 
merce yielded  531,921,798  reals;  to  the  latter,  12,321,440.  Hence 
the  whole  annual  income  of  the  former  was  1,630.296,143  reals; 
of  the  latter,  340,801,915.  Ferdinand  perceived  that  several 
branches  of  public  revenue  might  be,  and  ought  to  be.  rendered  im- 
mensely more  productive.  So  long,  however,  as  they  were  in  the 
hands  of  farmers  and  jobbers  the  interests  of  the  nation  must  suffer 
for  the  aggrandizement  of  a  few;  and  he  wisely  confided  the  col- 
lection to  royal  intendants. 

Under  Carlos  III.  the  progress  of  national  prosperity  was 
still  more  rapid.  To  some  of  his  improvements  allusion  has  already 
been  made.  We  may  add  that  tlie  foundation  in  numerous  dis- 
tricts of  economical  societies,  to  watch  over  the  industry  of  the 
neighborhood,  was  of  the  utmost  advantage,  since  their  reports 
could  enlighten  the  government  and  procure,  whenever  wanted,  an 
advance  of  money  on  a  very  moderate  interest,  or  on  none  at  all, — 
payment  of  the  principal  being  guaranteed  by  the  most  substantial 
inhabitants  of  the  place.  From  the  accession  of  Philip  Y.  to  the 
close  of  this  monarch's  reign  the  population  was  very  nearly 
doubled,  and  the  revenues  increased  twenty-fold.  These  are  stu- 
pendous results,  and  prove  beyond  cavil  the  good  effects  of  the 
Bourbon  government.  The  ministers  of  Carlos  could  boast  that 
during  his  reign  the  revenues  of  the  Indies  had  been  increased  from 
5,000,000  to  above  12.000,000  crowns;  that  from  177S  to  1785  the 
trade  with  the  colonies  had  been  tripled:  that  while  in  1751  the 
navy  consisted  of  only  eighteen  shijjs  of  tlie  line  and  fifteen  smaller 
craft,  it  could  now  number  seventy- four,  besides  two  hundred 
frigates,  brigs,  and  transports;  and  that  the  army  had  increased 
in  proportion.  Tn  literature  the  improvement  was  not  less  remark- 
able. A  bibliotheca  of  the  writers  of  this  reign  has  been  formed 
by  Semi)ere,  and  certainly  few  countries  and  few  tinios  can  exhil^t 

'The  old   Spaiiisli   real    wn.   equivalctit   to    u'    cnit-^. 


430  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1516-1788 

a  list  SO  numerous  and  so  splendid.  But  Carlos  failed  in  banishing 
the  peripatetic  philosophy  from  Salamanca,  the  professors  of  which 
regarded  the  names  of  Bacon,  Newton,  Gassendi,  and  Descartes 
with  horror.  In  ecclesiastical  discipline,  much  as  had  been  effected 
by  his  predecessors,  Carlos  improved  on  them.  In  this  reign  the 
inquisition,  the  severity  of  which  had  been  gradually  mitigated 
from  the  time  of  Carlos  II,,  ceased  to  inspire  much  terror.  Under 
Philip  V.  3,000  persons  had  been  burned,  imprisoned  for  life,  or 
sent  to  the  galleys;  under  Ferdinand  VI.  the  number  decreased  to 
10  burned,  and  170  condemned  to  other  penalties;  under  the  pres- 
ent Carlos  4  individuals  only  suffered  the  awful  penalty,  and  50 
only  were  otherwise  punished, — and  these  not  so  much  for  opin- 
ions as  for  criminal  acts. 

The  internal  resources  of  the  country  were  immense.  The 
soil,  the  climate,  the  ports,  the  people, — everything  offered  a 
foundation  for  greatness.  The  chivalrous  qualities  of  her  children, 
their  pride,  their  scorn  of  sordid  views,  their  sense  of  honor,  their 
intellectual  attainments  and  inflexible  virtues,  all  offered  a  hopeful 
prospect.  With  powers  bounded  by  precedent,  or  by  conscience 
alone — ^powers  which,  in  other  hands,  might  have  proved  fatal  to 
the  community — the  kings  of  Spain  had  seldom  been  tyrants.  Her 
nobility  and  gentry  were  not  more  distinguished  for  illustrious 
descent  than  for  unsullied  honor  and  boundless  generosity.  Her 
ecclesiastics  would  have  honorably  sustained  comparison  with  the 
clergy  of  the  established  Church  of  England  and  were  among  the 
foremost  defenders  of  popular  rights.  Her  citizens,  even  the 
rustics,  were  distinguished  for  intelligence  and  honest  hereditary 
pride  and  contained  within  themselves  resources  sufficient  to  ensure 
their  future  fortunes. 


PART  VI 

THE   PORTUGUESE   MONARCHY 
1521-1788   A.D. 


Chapter  XVII 

LAST    OF   THE   ANCIENT    DYNASTY.     1521-1640. 

JOAM,  or  John,  III.,  who  reij^ned  in  the  Portuj^uese  monarchy 
from  1 52 1  to  1557,  was  tlie  eldest  son  of  the  deceased  Dom 
Manuel,  and  ascended  the  throne  in  his  twentieth  year.  At 
this  time  Portugal  was  held  to  be  in  the  zenith  of  her  power. 
Her  boundless  empire  in  the  East  and  West:  her  American  pos- 
sessions, which,  though  unproductive  themselves,  were  admirably 
adapted  for  the  protection  and  extension  of  commerce;  her 
internal  wealth ;  seemed  to  secure  her  future  happiness  no  less 
than  her  glory.  But  to  a  closer  observer  she  was  evidently  be- 
ginning to  decline.  Her  former  domination  was  more  splendid 
than  solid.  The  enormous  expense  of  supporting  the  princes  of 
the  royal  house, — a  heavy  and  cumbrous  establishment,  adapted, 
not  for  a  small  state,  like  Portugal,  but  for  an  immense  empire; 
the  alarming  multiplication  of  the  nobility  and  clergy,  who  must  of 
necessity  be  supported  at  the  public  expense;  and,  above  all,  the 
introduction  of  a  degree  of  luxury  unknown  in  any  other  part  of 
Europe,  w^ere  signs  of  a  decline  as  rapid  as  inevitable.  The  long 
reign  of  this  prince  exhibits  little  beyond  interminable  contests  in 
India  and  Africa. 

At  the  time  of  Joam's  accession  the  viccroyalty  of  the  Indies 
was  in  the  hands  of  Dom  Duartc  de  Mcne/.cs.  In  Ormus 
the  inhabitants,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Minister  Xaref,  and  with 
the  permission  of  tlic  King  Terunca,  rose  against  tlie  I'ortugucso, 
massacred  a  considerable  number,  and  besieged  the  rest  in  tlie 
citadel,  which  they  had  been  impoliticly  permitted  to  erect.  Cou- 
tinho,  the  governor,  dispatched  a  vessel  to  Goa,  the  seat  oi  tlie 
Indian  government,  for  reinforcements,  but  before  any  could 
arrive  Xaref  lost  so  many  men,  both  in  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
on  the  fortress  and  by  a  vigorous  sortie  of  tlie  garrison,  that  he 
was  compelled  to  retire  with  the  king  to  a  ncigiiboring  island. 
There,  finding  that  Terunca,  who  had  been  unwillingly  drawn  int.> 
the  war,  was  disposed  to  renew  a  good    understanding    with    the 

433 


434  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1521-1537 

Strangers,  he  caused  that  unfortunate  prince  to  be  strangled.  In- 
stead of  punishing  this  man  for  thus  murdering  a  faithful  ally,  the 
avaricious  viceroy,  for  a  large  sum  of  money,  conferred  on  him 
the  government  of  Ormus.  The  same  rapacity  characterized  the 
Portuguese  governors  in  Cochin,  at  Calicut,  in  Malacca,  the  Moluc- 
cas, and  wherever  else  their  detestable  sway  extended.  To  restore 
the  national  honor,  in  1524  the  king  dispatched  the  aged  Vasco 
de  Gama,  the  celebrated  discoverer  of  the  Hindu  peninsula.  But 
scarcely  had  this  great  man  reached  Cochin  and  applied  his  vig- 
orous hand  to  the  correction  of  abuses,  when  death  surprised  him. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Henrique  de  Menezes,  brother  of  Duarte, 
whose  wisdom,  valor,  and  love  of  justice  made  him  the  dread  alike 
of  the  hostile  natives  and  of  his  licentious  soldiers.  But  after  a 
brilliant  victory  over  the  king  of  Calicut,  an  inveterate  enemy  of 
the  Europeans,  he  breathed  his  last  at  Cananore,  so  poor — and  this 
is  the  greatest  praise  that  can  be  given  him — that  he  left  not  money 
sufficient  to  defray  the  expenses  of  his  funeral.  A  few  months 
before  his  death  he  resolved  to  forsake  the  fortress  of  Calicut, 
which  experience  had  shown  would  always  be  exposed  to  the  at- 
tacks of  the  zamorin,  and  transfer  the  settlement  to  Diu,  near  the 
entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Cambay  and  in  the  empire  of  Guzerat ; 
and  his  successor,  Don  Pedro  Mascarenhas,  prepared  to  carry  the 
resolve  into  execution.  But  Diu  was  strong  by  nature  and  greatly 
fortified  by  art;  nor  would  the  king  of  Cambay,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  sovereigns  of  western  India,  fail  to  succor  it.  Hence 
bribery  was  employed  instead  of  force:  but  accident  suspended  the 
execution  of  the  enterprise.  The  disputes  of  Mascarenhas,  with 
Sampeyo,  who  succeeded  him,  and  the  perpetual  jealousies  of  the 
infefior  officers,  were  deeply  injurious  to  the  interests  of  the  em- 
pire in  the  East;  they  could,  however,  combine  where  plunder  was 
to  be  gained;  and  in  such  expeditions  they  exhibited  a  valor 
worthy  of  a  better  cause.  In  1529  Sampeyo  was  superseded  by 
Nuno  da  Cunha,  who  took  Ormus  in  his  way  and  who  sent  Xaref 
in  chains  to  Lisbon.  On  arriving  at  Goa,  his  first  acts  were  so 
many  preparations  for  the  siege  of  Diu,  the  possession  of  which  he 
perceived  to  be  necessary  for  the  security  of  the  Portuguese  settle- 
ments. So  great  was  the  force  he  brought  against  it  that  it  sur- 
rendered without  a  shot;  nor  could  the  subsequent,  however  fre- 
quent and  desperate,  efforts  of  the  Mohammedan  king  recover  it. 
In  1537  a  formidable  fleet  was  dispatched  from  the  Red  Sea,  under 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  435 

1537-1557 

the  pasha  Soliman,  admiral  of  the  Sublime  Porte,  to  cooperate 
with  the  king  of  Cambay  and  to  expel  the  Christians  from  these 
seas.  On  his  approach  the  Portuguese,  who  amounted  to  no  more 
than  700,  threw  themselves  into  the  citadel,  while  the  governor 
Silveira  secretly  sent  a  brig  to  acquaint  the  viceroy  with  the  danger 
which  threatened  that  important  post.  In  the  assaults  which  fol- 
lowed, by  a  force,  so  we  are  gravely  informed,  at  least  forty  times 
numerically  superior  to  the  garrison,  the  defenders  exhibited  a 
heroism  worthy  of  all  praise.  Disappointed  at  so  desperate  a  re- 
sistance, Soliman  sent  an  ambassador  to  the  king  of  Calicut,  whom 
he  invited  to  accept  the  protection  of  the  sultan,  and  to  join  him 
in  exterminating  the  infidel  dogs.  In  the  meantime  Da  Cunha  had 
been  superseded  by  Dom  Garcia  de  Noronha,  who  hastened  in  per- 
son to  the  relief  of  Diu,  but  who  found  the  siege  raised,  after  im- 
mense loss  on  the  part  of  Soliman.  The  next  nobleman  who  held 
the  delegated  authority  of  Joam  was  Dom  Estevan  de  Gama,  a  son 
of  the  celebrated  Vasco,  whose  administration  was  as  vigorous  as 
it  was  splendid.  He  founded  a  college  at  Goa  for  the  education  of 
noble  Hindoos;  he  defended  the  emperor  of  Abyssinia  against  the 
Turks;  and  he  exterminated  most  of  the  corsairs  who  infested  the 
Indian  seas.  His  successor,  Alfonso  de  Sousa,  by  whom  he  was 
replaced  in  1542,  was  accompanied  by  San  Francisco  de  Xavier, 
the  great  apostle  of  the  Indies,  the  friend  of  Ignacio  de  Loy- 
ola, who  founded  the  order  of  Jesus.  The  labors  of  this  inde- 
fatigable missionary  were  almost  superhuman,  and  were  not 
without  effect.  In  the  year  of  his  arrival  the  islands  of  Japan 
were  first  approached  by  the  Europeans;  but  the  jealcnisy  or  pru- 
dence of  the  inhabitants  preserved  them  from  the  intercourse  of 
these  suspicious  strangers.  That  such  strangers  were  entitled  to 
be  viewed  with  distrust  was  soon  experienced  by  tlie  inhabitants  of 
the  Moluccas.  They  had  gained  possession  of  tw(^  princes,  sons 
of  the  late  king  of  Ternate.  whom,  at  length,  they  hberated  with 
the  view  of  reigning  through  a  royal  dependent.  The  eldest  was 
restored  by  the  gcn-ernor,  Fonseca,  to  the  tin'one.  but  in  a  few  weeks 
the  same  governor  replaced  him  by  the  younger  ])rother.  A  new 
governor  arrived— such  was  the  fear  lest  the  I'ortuguesc  officers 
should  aim  at  independence  tliat  they  never  were  Inng  stiffcred  t.. 
remain  in  one  post, — who  on  some  frivolous  i)retext  arrested  the 
king  and  sent  him  to  Goa.  The  viceroy,  unable  to  prove  any 
charo-e  acrainst  him,  honorablv  dismissed  b.im,  but  he  died  on  lii< 


436  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1537-1557 

return.  There  was  still  remaining  a  bastard  brother  of  these  pup- 
pets of  royalty;  him  the  governor,  Ataide,  raised  to  the  throne. 
His  mother,  a  native  of  Java,  by  religion  a  Mohammedan,  endeav- 
ored to  dissuade  him  from  retaining  the  dignity,  foreseeing  that 
the  same  or  a  similar  fate  would  be  reserved  for  him  as  had  already 
proved  fatal  to  his  brothers.  Incensed  at  this  discovery  of  their 
views,  a  band  of  Portuguese  soldiers  hastened  to  the  palace,  and  in 
sight  of  her  son  threw  her  from  a  high  window :  she  was  killed  by 
the  fall.  Throughout  these  islands  the  inhabitants  retaliated  by 
massacring  all  of  the  same  nation  on  whom  they  could  lay  hands; 
but  most,  according  to  custom,  fled  into  the  citadel  of  Ternate, 
where  they  could  safely  defy  their  pursuers.  This  relation  would 
alone  be  sufficient  to  characterize  the  conduct  of  the  Portuguese, 
who,  under  the  pretense  of  commerce,  obtaining  from  the  in- 
cautious natives  permission  to  build  a  citadel,  uniformly  perpetrated 
the  same  atrocities.  Their  odious  dominaton  was  founded  in 
hypocrisy,  was  cemented  by  violence  and  blood,  was  crowned  with 
rapacity  and  insolence.  Sousa  was  succeeded  by  Dom  Joam  de 
Castro,  under  whom  the  garrison  of  Diu  again  obtained  immortal 
fame  by  the  defense  of  that  place  against  a  formidable  army  of 
Mohammedans.  The  place  was  at  length  relieved  by  the  viceroy 
in  person,  who,  not  content  with  this  advantage,  assailed  with  about 
5,000  men  the  vast  force  of  the  enemy  and  obtained  a  signal  vic- 
tory. The  victory  inspired  the  princes  of  Hindustan  with  fear. 
Passing  over  two  intermediate  viceroys,  one  of  whom,  however 
(Cabral),  obtained  some  advantage  over  the  zamorin,  the  govern- 
ment of  Alfonso  de  Noronha  is  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  revolt 
of  the  Moluccas.  The  cause,  as  may  be  readily  supposed,  was  the 
unscrupulous  behavior  of  the  Portuguese  officers,  and  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  king,  the  horrid  fate  of  whose  mother  was  continually 
present  to  his  eyes.  Those  who  had  embraced  Christianity  broke 
the  images  and  overthrew  the  altars  which  they  had  been  taught 
to  venerate.  Their  revolt  would  probably  have  been  successful 
had  not  a  dreadful  famine,  and  afterwards  a  still  more  dreadful 
earthquake,  carried  off  some  thousands  of  their  number,  and  in- 
clined the  remainder  to  consider  these  disasters  as  chastisements  of 
their  apostasy.  The  avarice  of  Noronha,  who  on  one  occasion 
threw  tlie  father  of  a  Cingalese  king  into  prison  because  he  was 
refused  t 2,000  ducats, — a  sum  which  he  demanded  without  the 
shadow  of  a  reason,  and  in  tlie  wantonness  of  power, — increased 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  437 

1523-1535 

the  number  of  the  discontented.  Joam  was  sufficiently  inclined  to 
punish  the  guilt  of  his  servants,  but  his  immense  distance  from  the 
scene  and  the  misrepresentations  of  the  interested  neutralized  his 
desire  of  justice.  The  last  viceroy  during  his  reign  was  Dom  Fran- 
cisco Barreto,  under  whom  the  Moluccas  again  revolted.  The 
governor  at  Ternate,  Duarte  de  Saa,  a  fierce  bigot  and  a  sanguinary 
monster,  treated  the  royal  family  with  extreme  severity.  On  one 
occasion,  resolving  to  remove  the  king  by  poison,  he  caused  the 
liquor  in  which  the  drug  was  mixed  to  be  presented,  but  the  in- 
tended victim,  by  means,  we  are  told,  of  a  peculiar  stone  detected 
the  deleterious  nature  of  the  beverage  and  refused  to  drink  it. 
With  the  resolution  of  destroying  so  faithless  a  race,  his  subjects 
rose  against  the  Portugese,  massacred  all  on  whom  they  could  seize, 
but  were,  as  usual,  defied  by  the  garrison,  were  subsequently  van- 
quished in  a  general  engagement,  and  forced  to  resume  the  yoke. 

During  these  transactions  in  the  East  ]\Iorocco  continued 
to  be  the  sanguinary  theater  of  the  worst  human  passions.  On' 
the  one  hand  the  Portuguese  were  eager  to  extend  their  possessions; 
on  the  other,  the  xerifs,  exulting  in  their  successful  ambition, 
were  not  less  so  to  free  the  country  from  so  troublesome  an  enemy. 
From  the  accession  of  the  new  dynasty  the  affairs  of  the  Portuguese 
began  to  decline.  Indicative  of  tlie  ambitious  schemes  which  they 
had  formed,  the  xerifs  assumed  the  title  of  emperors  of  Africa,  the 
elder,  Hamed,  remaining  at  Morocco,  the  younger,  ]\Iohammed, 
occupying  the  more  western  provinces.  To  the  king  of  Fez  this 
assumption  was  not  less  odious  than  it  was  to  the  Portuguese  them- 
selves; to  repress  their  rising  power  that  prince  led  a  formidable 
army  to  the  banks  of  the  Gadalebi,  where  he  was  signally  defeated. 
About  the  same  time  the  governor  of  Saphin,  irritated  at  the  insult- 
ing demonstration  of  the  Moors  before  that  place,  imprudently  left 
the  walls  and  attacked  them;  his  defeat  C(^nfirmcd  the  domination  of 
the  imperial  brothers.  The  recovery  of  Santa  Cruz,  a  town  at  Cape 
Aguer,  encouraged  ITamed,  the  elder,  to  at(eni])t  tlic  reduction  of 
Saphin,  but,  as  usual,  he  failed.  His  brother,  who  had  fixed  his  resi- 
dence at  Tarudante,  had  brought  from  Santa  Cruz  several  Christian 
captives,  among  whom  was  the  governor.  Mcinroi.  with  two  clnl- 
dren,  a  son  and  a  daughter.  The  l)eanty  of  Dona  Mencia  made  a 
deep  impression  on  tlie  xerif,  who  at  length  prevailed  on  her  not 
only  to  enter  his  harem,  but  to  abjure  her  rcligi(Mi.  The  passion  of 
tKk  barbarian   is   represented  as   intense  and   lasting.      Vvom   the 


438  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1523-1535 

abstraction  into  which  he  fell  after  her  death  he  was  roused  by  an 
invasion  of  his  brother  Hamed,  who,  after  a  second  unsuccessful 
attempt  on  Saphin,  hoped  to  add  Sus  and  Tarudante  to  the  empire 
of  Morocco.  The  latter  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner,  but  his 
eldest  son,  who  had  been  in  the  capital,  armed  for  his  liberation, 
and  to  strengthen  the  expedition,  courted  the  alliance  of  the  Por- 
tuguese. Alarmed  at  the  junction,  the  victor  dismissed  his  brother 
without  ransom,  on  the  condition  that  mutual  wrongs  should  be 
forgotten  and  their  arms  united  to  oppose  the  common  enemy  of 
both.  But  Hamed  was  too  ambitious  to  submit  to  a  division  of  the 
empire.  Unmindful  of  his  brother's  generosity,  in  1543  he  assem- 
bled another  army,  invaded  Tarudante,  and  was  again  defeated. 
On  this  second  occasion  Mohammed  was  resolved  to  derive  every 
possible  advantage  from  his  success.  He  marched  on  Morocco, 
which  he  occupied  without  resistance.  From'  the  triumph  of  his 
arms  the  xerif  turned  to  a  melancholy  indulgence  of  his  passion. 
Hearing  that  Monroi,  the  father  of  his  lost  mistress,  was  in  the 
dungeons  of  Morocco,  he  called  that  unfortunate  cavaher  before 
him.  "  Christian,  I  loved  thy  daughter,  and  her  death  has  left 
me  miserable :  neither  victory  nor  glory  can  console  me ;  my  only 
consolation  is  an  opportunity  of  serving  her  father.  Depart,  and 
when  in  thine  own  country,  sometimes  think  of  a  monarch  so  de- 
voted to  thy  child !  "  This  prince  had  certainly  elevated  qualities,  a 
distinction  the  more  honorable  in  a  Moor.  Though  his  brother 
Hamed  armed  Muley,  king  of  Fez,  against  him,  he  again  pardoned 
him,  but  exiled  him  to  the  government  of  a  fortified  town.  In  a 
subsequent  action,  which  Muley  had  the  imprudence  to  seek,  the 
monarch  of  Fez  was  defeated  and  deprived  of  his  possessions.  Lord 
of  Morocco,  Sus,  Fez,  Tarudante,  Tremencen,  and  other  regions, 
his  ambition  was  not  yet  satisfied.  As  his  domestic  disputes  were 
ended,  he  again  turned  his  arms  against  his  natural  enemies,  but, 
if  the  historians  of  Portugal  are  to  be  credited,  with  little  effect. 
That  on  one  occasion  the  xerif,  with  4,000  horse,  was  signally  de- 
feated by  a  Portuguese  noble  with  140,  is  gravely  asserted :  victories 
e(|ually  improbable,  we  may  add  equally  impossible,  occur  at  every 
step  in  the  Portuguese  relations  concerning  the  wars  of  their  coun- 
trymen with  the  misbelievers.  But  what  we  are  told  could  not  be 
effected  by  valor  was  done  by  fortune.  Considering  the  war  which 
he  liad  to  support  in  India,  and  his  want  of  troops,  Joam  took  the 
extraordinary  resolution  of  dismantling  four  of  his  African  for- 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  439 

1526-1557 

tresses,  Arzilla,  Saphin,  Azamor,  Alcazar-Seguer,  and  of  abandon- 
ing the  ruins  to  the  enemy.  This  resolution  was  carried  into  effect : 
but  that  this  was  owing  as  much  to  the  arms  of  the  xerif  as  to  the 
motives  will  be  admitted  by  every  reader  except  a  Portuguese.  As 
Mohammed  grew  in  years  he  abstained  from  the  field  and  left  the 
conduct  of  the  desultory  and  indecisive  operations  to  his  generals. 
In  the  last  year  of  Joanr  s  reign  he  was  assassinated  by  the  governor 
of  Algiers,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Muley  Abdallah. 

Of  Dom  Joam's  administration  in  Portugal  the  national  his- 
torians seldom  speak ;  their  attention  is  almost  wholly  occupied  by 
affairs  in  India  and  Africa.  He  it  was  who  introduced  the  inqui- 
sition into  Portugal.  The  innovation  of  this  tribunal  for  the 
examination  and  punishment  of  heretics  is  traced  to  the  impiety 
of  one  of  their  number,  who  one  day  entered  a  church  during 
mass  and  snatched  the  consecrated  host  from  tlie  hands  of 
the  priest.  To  keep  the  Jews,  Moors,  and  other  enemies  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  in  the  respect  due  to  it,  the  king 
called  in  the  assistance  of  that  terrible  tribunal.  Its  introduc- 
tion was  strongly  opposed  by  the  people,  who,  however,  bent  before 
his  inflexibility.  The  next  instance  of  his  anxiety  for  the  interests 
of  religion  was  his  attachment  to  the  Jesuits,  who  at  this  time  glowed 
with  all  the  intensity  of  a  first  zeal.  He  employed  them  as  his 
missionaries  throughout  his  vast  colonial  empire,  and  nobly  did  they 
justify  his  choice.  Their  virtues  appeared  to  double  advantage  when 
contrasted  with  the  worldly  pursuits  or  exceptionable  lives  of  too 
many  among  the  secular  and  regular  orders.  In  fact,  licentious- 
ness in  the  ranks  of  the  latter  had  arrived  at  such  a  pitch 
that  Joam  found  it  necessary  to  reform  them.  To  this  end  he  created 
three  new  bishoprics,  elevated  the  see  of  Evora  into  a  metropolis, 
and  charged  the  new  prelates  to  watch  over  the  conduct  of  the 
monastic  houses.  With  no  less  care  did  he  provide  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice ;  he  improved  alike  the  tribunals  and  the  laws ;  but, 
as  clemency  was  the  basis  of  his  character,  tliose  laws  were  deprived 
of  their  old-time  severity.  No  less  anxious  to  promote  internal 
intercourse,  he  repaired  the  roads,  constructed  new  ones,  and  even 
restored  the  celebrated  aqueduct  of  Sertorius. 

This  prince  died  in  1557.  By  liis  queen,  Catherina,  sister  of  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.,  he  had  several  male  children,  of  whom  ncMic 
emerged  from  their  infancy  except  Joam.  Nor  did  that  infante 
sur\  ivc  the  father.    In  1553  he  received  the  hand  of  Juana.  dauglitcr 


440  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1557-1562 

of  the  emperor;  but  he  died  in  the  third  month  of  his  marriage, 
leaving  the  princess  pregnant  of  a  son,  afterwards  the  unfortunate 
Dom  Sebastian,  Of  this  king's  daughters  one  only  arrived  at  ma- 
ture years,  Maria,  whom  he  married  to  her  cousin,  Philip  11.  of 
Spain.  Of  his  brothers  one  only,  the  Cardinal'  Henrique,  whom  he 
had  vainly  endeavored  to  place  in  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  survived 
him.  As  his  sister  Isabel  was  the  mother  of  the  Spanish  monarch,  the 
connection  between  the  royal  families  of  the  two  kingdoms  was,  as 
we  shall  soon  see,  fatal  to  the  independence  of  Portugal.  In  enumer- 
ating the  scions  of  this  house  we  must  not  omit  Luis,  Due  de 
Beja,  a  brother  of  Joam,  who  died  in  1555.  This  prince  fell  passion- 
ately in  love  with  a  female  of  humble  birth :  the  issue  of  this  con- 
nection was  a  son,  afterwards  the  famous  prior  of  Crato. 

As  Sebastian  (1557-1578)  on  the  death  of  his  grandfather  was 
only  three  years  of  age,  the  regency,  in  conformity  with  the  will  of 
the  late  king,  was  vested  in  the  widowed  queen,  Catherina  of  Aus- 
tria. In  a  few  years,  however,  being  disgusted  with 'the  intrigues  of 
Cardinal  Henrique,  who  aspired  to  the  direction  of  affairs,  she  re- 
signed it  in  his  favor.  Both  governed  with  moderation,  and  not 
without  success,  an  empire  on  which  the  sun  never  set. 

From  infancy  the  young  king  showed  that  the  love  of  arms 
would  be  his  ruling  passion.  His  tutors  appear  to  have  been  no 
less  anxious  to  imbue  his  mind  with  hatred  of  the  Moors,  the 
progress  of  whose  successes  had  filled  them  with  apprehension.  The 
union  of  four  states — Sus,  Morocco,  Fez,  and  Tremecen — under  the 
same  scepter,  was  scarcely  more  fatal  than  the  successive  relinquish- 
ment by  the  late  king  of  four  important  fortresses,  Arzilla,  Alcazar- 
Seguer,  Saphin,  and  Azamor.  The  treacherous  assassination,  in- 
deed, of  the  xerif  by  the  governor  of  Algiers,  in  the  last  year  of 
Joam's  reign,  had  induced  the  Portuguese  to  hope  that  under  a  less 
enterprising  prince  they  should  regain  their  former  influence.  The 
hope  was  vain.  The  eldest  son,  Muley  Abdallah,  who,  in  the  dread 
of  being  supplanted  by  his  uncle  and  seven  cousins,  had  put  all  the 
eight  to  death,  showed  a  disposition  to  improve  the  advantages 
which  had  been  gained.  In  1562  he  collected  a  formidable  army, 
which  he  intrusted  to  his  eldest  son,  Muley  Hamet,  who  furiously 
assailed  Mazagan,  a  fortress  on  the  Atlantic,  almost  within  sight 
of  his  capital.  This  host,  though  led  by  the  vassal  king  of  Dara, 
a  brother  of  the  emperor,  and  encouraged  by  the  example  of  Muley 
Hamet,  was  discomfited  by  the  miraculous  valor  of  the  besieged. 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  441 

1565-1574 

The  assailants,  however,  returned  in  greater  numbers  and  with 
greater  fury  than  before,  but  were  repulsed  with  equal  slaughter. 
In  1565  an  attempt  equally  unsuccessful  was  made  on  Tangier. 
Still  the  Portuguese  empire  in  Africa  was  so  fallen  from  its  former 
splendor — three  fortresses  only,  :Mazagan,  Ceuta,  and  Tangier,  re- 
maining to  Sebastian — that  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  im- 
moderate anxiety  betrayed  by  the  young  monarch  to  restore,  if 
possible  to  amplify  it,  far  beyond  its  original  extent. 

From  the  moment  Sebastian  reached  his  fourteenth  year,  the 
period  of  his  majority,  all  his  thoughts  evidently  tended  to  the 
African  w^ar.  In  1574,  in  opposition  to  the  prayers  of  his  counsel- 
ors, and  amidst  the  lamentations  of  all  who  wished  well  to  his 
person,  he  suddenly  and  rashly  departed  for  the  African  coast; 
not.  indeed,  with  the  view  of  warfare,  but  of  examining  the  coun- 
try and  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  that  might  be  useful  in  his 
meditated  exploits.  That  such  a  voyage  would  be  attended  with 
danger,  even  though  he  was  accompanied  by  about  1,500  men,  was 
apparent.  He  landed  at  Tangier  and  began  to  hunt  amidst  the 
African  mountains  with  as  much  sense  of  security  as  if  he  were 
following  the  chase  in  the  vicinity  of  Cintra.  Irritated  at  his  au- 
dacity, the  Moors  collected  in  considerable  numbers  and  assailed 
the  royal  escort;  but  after  a  struggle,  in  which  the  king  exhibited 
all  the  rashness  of  his  courage,  and  In  which  he  incurred  great 
risk,  they  were  repelled.  Another  cause  gave  now  a  stimulus  to 
his  ardor.  Morocco  was  a  prey  to  divisions,  which  had  already 
proved  disastrous  to  the  Moors,  and  were  likely  to  continue  the 
fruitful  source  of  troubles.  IMuley  Abdalla  had  been  succeeded  by 
his  son,  Muley  Hamet,  in  opposition  to  the  order  of  succession  es- 
tablished by  the  two  xerifs,  who  agreed  that  in  their  respective 
dominions  the  sons  should  succeed  in  the  order  of  tlicir  birth,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  grandsons.  Hence,  on  tlic  death  of  Abdalla, 
the  crown  should  have  devolved,  not  on  ?\Iuley  J  laniet,  but  on  Abdel- 
mumen,  the  next  brother  of  Abdalla.  Knowing  tiiat  his  life  was  in 
in  danger,  Abdelmumcn,  accompanied  by  his  yoimger  brothers. 
Abdelmelic  and  Ilamet,  had  lied  to  'J'rcmecen  and  Algiers.  'Hiey 
were  pursued  by  assassins,  and  Abdelmumcn  fell  in  the  mosque  of 
the  former  city.  Muley  ^lolnc  Alidelmclic  tied  to  Algiers  and  im- 
plored the  succor  of  Thilip  IT.,  the  Spanisli  king,  whom  he  i)roposed 
to  acknowledge  as  his  liege  lord,  in  tlic  event  of  his  gaining  what  he 
considered  his  rightful  inheritance.     lk\i  Philip  was  too  prudent  to 


442  STAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1574-1577 

plunge  his  kingdom  into  a  war  for  the  sake  of  a  barbarian,  who 
would  soon  have  forgotten  the  promise.  From  the  grand  signior, 
however,  whom  he  visited,  this  prince  obtained  3,000  men,  with 
permission  to  raise  as  many  as  he  could.  With  this  small  force  he 
returned,  increased  it  by  the  levies  raised  during  his  absence  by  his 
brother  Hamet,  and  boldly  marched  on  Fez.  He  was  met  by  Muley 
Hamet,  whom  he  defeated,  pursued,  and  finally  expelled  from 
Morocco:  he  was  in  consequence  hailed  as  emperor  by  a  people 
more  prone  than  any  other  to  revolution.  It  was  now  Muley 
Hamet's  turn  to  solicit  the  Christian  princes  for  aid.  Philip  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  him,  as  he  had  before  done  to  Abdelmelic  ;■  but  he  was 
more  fortunate  with  Sebastian,  who  readily  promised  to  replace 
him  on  the  throne. 

But  though  the  civil  dissensions  of  Morocco  thus  confirmed  the 
Portuguese  king  in  his  long-cherished  resolution,  even  he  felt  that 
the  undertaking  was  one  of  magnitude  and  demanded  preparations. 
His  coffers  were  empty;  his  disposable  force  was  insignificant;  his 
kingdom  was  exhausted,  both  of  money  and  of  troops,  by  the  con- 
tinued wars  in  India  and  Africa.  By  a  prudent  man  these  circum- 
stances would  have  been  considered  insurmountable  obstacles  to  the 
meditated  enterprise;  but  though  they  were  displayed  in  their 
true  light  by  ministers  who  had  grown  old  in  public  affairs,  they 
had  little  effect  on  this  unreflecting  prince.  He  laid  new  and  op- 
pressive imposts  on  his  people,  and  caused  troops  to  be  levied  in 
Italy  and  the  Low  Countries :  but  the  money  thus  raised  was  inade- 
quate to  the  occasion ;  nor  would  the  foreign  mercenaries  move  from 
their  country  without  receiving  a  considerable  sum  by  way  of 
advance.  The  preparations,  however,  alarmed  Muley  INIoluc,  who 
offered  him  any  part  in  Mauritania  as  the  condition  of  his  abandon- 
ing the  exile  Muley  Hamet — an  offer  which  he  indignantly  re- 
jected. That  he  aspired  to  the  possession  of  the  whole  empire — 
nay,  that  in  his  wild  imagination  he  indulged  the  prospect  of  sub- 
duing all  northern  Africa,  and  of  planting  his  victorious  ban- 
ners on  the  towers  of  Constantinople — is  seriously  asserted  by  the 
historians  of  the  times.  But  as  his  resources  were  so  limited  he 
turned  his  eyes  towards  his  uncle,  the  Catholic  king,  whose  coopera- 
tion he  solicited,  and  with  whom  he  obtained  an  interview  at  Guada- 
lupe. The  behavior  of  Philip  II.  of  Spain  on  this  occasion  is  highly 
honorable  to  his  character.  He  received  Sebastian  with  uncommon 
respect,  waived  points  of  precedence,  and  showed  an  affectionate  in- 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  443 

1577-1578 

terest  in  the  circumstances  and  prospects  of  the  young  enthusiast,  to 
whom  he  even  promised  his  daughter,  Dona  Clara  Eugenia.  He 
strongly  disapproved  of  the  African  war ;  alleged  the  most  convincing 
reasons  for  abandoning  it — reasons  drawn  alike  from  the  character 
of  the  Moors,  the  sterility  of  the  mountains,  the  magnitude  of  the 
expense,  the  probability  that  Turkey  would  arm  in  behalf  of  Muley 
Moluc ;  and  in  case  Sebastian  fell,  the  disputes  that  must  inevitably 
arise  concerning  the  succession.  When  he  saw  that  his  nephew 
was  fully  bent  on  the  undertaking,  he  earnestly  and  pathetically 
entreated  him  not  to  conduct  it  in  person,  but  confide  it  to  his 
generals.  As  the  enterprise  was  one  of  peril,  and  as,  in  the  event 
of  the  madman's  death,  Philip  would  be  a  claimant  of  the  Portu- 
guese monarchy,  his  conduct  in  this  respect  is  the  more  honorable : 
yet  such  is  the  force  of  national  prejudice,  or  of  party  malice,  that 
his  very  virtues  have  been  blackened,  his  best  motives  willfully  mis- 
represented. When  he  found  his  kinsman's  mind  too  obstinate  to 
be  swayed  by  reason,  he  gave  a  reluctant  consent — even  this  was 
attended  with  the  condition  that  Sebastian  would  not  venture  into 
the  interior  of  the  country — to  furnish  and  dispatch  2,000  men  to 
aid  Sebastian.  The  obstinacy  of  the  latter  was  confirmed  by  the 
arrival  of  3,000  men  from  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  of  Tx^o  Ital- 
ians, who  were  on  their  way  to  join  the  discontented  Irish,  and  who 
were  easily  persuaded  to  divert  their  arms  against  the  ]Moors — a 
people  almost  as  odious  as  the  heretics  of  England. 

The  preparations  being  at  length  completed,  and  the  Cardinal 
Henrique  vested  with  the  regency,  in  June,  1578,  the  armament  put 
to  sea.  It  consisted  of  9,000  Portuguese — all  that  could  be  raised — 
2,000  Spaniards,  3,000  Germans,  and  the  Italians  before  mentioned; 
in  all  about  15,000  men,  with  twelve  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
fifty-five  vessels.  With  a  force  so  inadecinate  to  the  objects  of 
the  expedition,  no  sane  mind  would  ever  have  embarked.  The  Sf)l- 
diers  were  wiser  than  their  chief ;  they  felt  as  if  they  were  proceeding 
to  certain  destruction.  Never,  indeed,  was  armament  more  fatally 
misdirected.  Though  the  disembarkation  was  effected  early  in  July, 
between  Arzilla  and  Tangier,  Sebastian  had  yet  to  ])lan  the  opera- 
tions of  the  campaign.  It  was  at  length  resolved  that  the  cami)aign 
should  be  opened  l)y  the  siege  of  Earache,  a  fortress  about  five 
leagues  distant  from  Arzilla;  but  whether  the  men  should  proceed 
by  land  or  by  sea,  gave  rise  to  new  consnltaiioiis.  As  the  horse- 
men of  Muley  Moluc  were  hovering  about  the  outskirts  ot  tlie  Chris- 


444.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1578 

tians — as  the  weather  was  oppressive,  the  country  sandy,  and  the 
march  fatiguing — circumstances  which  had  been  foreseen  by  the 
prudent  PhiHp — common  sense  demanded  that  the  armament  should 
proceed  by  sea.  Of  this  opinion  were  the  most  experienced  Portu- 
guese: it  was  supported  with  energy  by  Muley  Hamet,  who  with 
300  Moors  had  joined  his  ally,  and  whose  opinion  on  such  a  subject 
was  entitled  to  most  implicit  deference.  But  the  rash  prince  de- 
clared that  to  reimbark  in  presence  of  the  enemy  would  be  a  mark 
of  cowardice,  and  would  injure  the  final  success  of  the  cause.  Just 
before  the  troops  began  to  march  General  Aldana  arrived  with 
letters  from  the  duke  of  Alva.  In  them  that  able  captain  expressed 
the  alarm  which  he  had  felt  lest  the  Portuguese  should  venture  from 
the  coast,  and  how  agreeably  that  alarm  had  been  dissipated  by  the 
assurance  that  their  efforts  were  to  be  confined  to  the  reduction  of 
Larache.  He  advised  the  king  to  remain  satisfied  with  that  advan- 
tage. On  July  29  the  army  commenced  its  march,  without  dis- 
cipline or  zeal,  and  proceeded  so  slowly  that  five  days  had  elapsed 
before  it  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Luk,  within  sight  of  the  army 
of  Moluc. 

Though  on  the  arrival  of  his  enemies  ]Muley  ]\Ioluc  was  in  the 
last  stage  of  a  lingering  and  fatal  disease,  he  had  prepared  with  ac- 
tivity for  their  reception.  Having  ordered  his  brother,  the  governor 
of  Fez,  to  join  him,  he  advanced  towards  Alcazar-quibir,  and  about 
six  miles  from  that  place  he  became  so  much  exhausted  that  he 
could  not  sit  on  horseback.  There  his  brother  joined  him  and  in- 
creased his  force  to  about  48,000,  exclusive  of  some  Arabs,  who  ar- 
rived only  for  plunder.  As  he  distrusted  many  of  his  followers, 
he  caused  proclamation  to  be  made  that  all  who  wished  to  join  his 
rival  had  his  full  permission  to  leave  the  camp  unmolested.  With 
the  view  of  affording  them  the  opportunity  of  escape,  he  selected 
3,000  whom  he  considered  the  most  disaffected,  and  dispatched 
them  to  reconnoiter  tlie  Christian  camp :  but,  though  they  had  ac- 
tually entertained  the  design  of  forsaking  him,  they  were  so  gratified 
with  what  they  regarded  as  a  proof  of  his  confidence,  in  being  se- 
lected for  so  honorable  a  service,  that  all  remained  faithful.  His 
first  aim  was  to  oppose  the  passage  of  the  Christians  over  the  river, 
in  the  way  to  Larache,  and  with  this  view  he  posted  his  troops  at 
the  only  ford  in  the  neighborhood.  It  was  for  some  time  doubtful 
whether  the  two  armies  would  come  to  an  action.  The  Portuguese 
vainly  sought  for  another  ford;  and  when  the  river  was  ascertained 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  445 

1578 

to  be  too  deep  for  the  infantry,  much  more  the  artillery,  to  pass  it, 
a  council  of  war  was  summoned  to  deliberate  on  what  was  best  to 
be  done.  All  felt  that  their  position  was  one  of  imminent  peril,  in 
fact,  of  desperation.  In  another  day  their  provisions  would  be 
exhausted:  they  could  not,  therefore,  return  to  Arzilla,  nor  could 
they  reach  Larache  without  taking  a  circuitous  route  and  being 
constantly  exposed  to  the  enemy's  assaults.  In  such  circumstances, 
owing  to  the  most  deplorable  imbecility  on  the  part  of  the  king,  the 
only  hope  of  escape  lay  in  victory.  But  iMuley  Hamet,  who,  from 
the  disorganized  state  of  the  army,  its  insubordination,  its  want  of 
zeal,  and,  above  all,  from  the  iml)ecility  of  its  leaders,  perceived 
that  the  advantage  must  of  necessity  rest  with  the  Moors,  advised 
a  retreat,  at  all  risks,  or  a  resolute  effort  to  gain  Larache ;  and, 
wdien  he  found  that  the  obstinacy  of  the  king  was  not  to  be  shaken, 
urged  that  the  action  should  not  commence  until  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  In  this  case,  he  observed,  the  army  would,  if  defeated, 
be  soon  able  to  escape  under  cover  of  darkness.  But  the  pre- 
sumptuous youth  despised  every  suggestion  of  prudence;  and  the 
contest  was  resolved  upon  early  the  following  day.  In  the  certainty 
that  the  Christians,  through  want  of  provisions,  would  soon  be  at 
his  mercy,  the  Moorish  monarch  had  hoped  to  avoid  useless  blood- 
shed by  delaying  the  battle :  but  he  felt  that  his  last  hour  was  rapidly 
approaching;  he  had  no  confidence  in  the  talents  of  his  brother;  he 
trembled  for  the  fidelity  of  a  considerable  portion  of  his  army;  and 
he  knew  that  his  authority  alone  could  ensure  obedience,  his  ability 
alone  the  hope  of  victory.  He  called  his  brother  to  his  tent ;  con- 
fided to  him  the  command  of  the  cavalry;  exhorted  him  to  do  his 
duty  manfully,  since  he  was  about  to  struggle  rather  for  himself 
than  for  a  prince  who  had  not  many  hours  to  live;  and  ended  by 
vowing  to  the  prophet  that,  if  he  exhibited  any  lack  of  courage 
or  conduct,  his  head  should  assuredly  fall.  This  able  barbarian  was 
then  placed  in  a  litter  and  carried  among  his  troops,  whom  he  ranged 
in  order  of  battle. 

The  4th  of  August  will  ever  be  the  most  memorable  of  days 
in  the  annals  of  Portugal.  Both  princes  having  addressed  their 
troops,  Sebastian  from  his  horse,  jMnlcy  Ah^hic  from  his  litter,  tlie 
artillery  of  both  armies  began  to  i)l;iy,  but  as  that  of  the  floors 
was  both  more  numerous  and  bettor  served,  .^cliastian  gave  orders 
for  the  charge.  At  first  tlie  Christian  cavalry,  unable  to  withstand 
tlie  impetuous  onset  of  the  Mo'U-s.  fell  Ixick;  the  fugitives  were  rah 


446  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1578 

lied  by  the  Due  de  Aveiro  and  the  king,  who  arrested  the  fury  of 
the  assault.  Seeing  the  Moorish  cavalry  begin  to  stagger,  Sebastian 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  infantry,  and  in  a  vigorous  charge 
forced  the  enemy  to  fall  back  on  their  artillery.  At  this  moment 
the  dying  Muley  Moluc,  fearful  of  the  result,  ascended  a  horse, 
drew  a  saber,  and  was  advancing  into  the  midst  of  the  struggle 
when  his  faithful  servants  seized  the  bridle,  his  legs,  his  right  hand, 
and  earnestly  urged  him  to  dismount.  He  insisted;  they  were  no 
less  resolute,  and  in  the  excitement  of  the  moment  he  threatened 
to  cut  them  down  unless  they  relinquished  their  hold.  But,  to  a 
dying  frame,  that  excitement  was  immediately  fatal:  he  swooned, 
fell  from  his  horse,  was  replaced  in  his  litter,  when,  laying  his 
finger  on  his  lips  in  sign  of  secrecy,  he  breathed  his  last.  In  com- 
pliance with  his  order,  the  event  was  carefully  concealed  from  his 
troops,  and  his  confidential  officers  continued  to  ride  to  the  door  of 
his  litter,  as  if  to  receive  his  instructions.  In  the  meantime  the 
Moors  had  been  effectually  rallied;  and  the  Portuguese  infantry — ■ 
the  mainstay  of  the  army — was  at  length  broken.  For  some  time, 
however,  a  vigorous  defense,  even  when  the  lines  were  destroyed, 
was  maintained  by  the  heroic  valor  of  Sebastian,  who  rallied  all 
that  he  could  approach,  and  opposed  a  firm  rampart  to  the  im- 
petuosity of  the  Moorish  horse.  Once  he  charged  his  pursuers  with 
such  desperation  that  he  laid  2,000  low.  But  the  contest  was  un- 
equal. In  other  parts  of  the  field  the  Christians  no  longer  offered 
a  resistance.  Two  horses  had  already  fallen  under  him,  and  the 
third  was  exhausted.  His  companions,  anxious  to  save  his  person, 
had  been  cut  down  at  his  side.  The  few  who  survived  earnestly 
entreated  him  to  surrender,  but  he  haughtily  refused,  observing 
that  a  king  should  prefer  death  to  captivity,  and  again  plunged  into 
the  thickest  of  the  fight.  From  this  moment  great  uncertainty 
hangs  over  his  fate.  That  he  fell  on  the  field  is  confirmed  by 
the  inquiries  of  the  succeeding  day.  Such  of  the  Portuguese 
chivalry  as  survived,  being  brought  into  the  presence  of  Muley 
Hamet,  the  brother  and  successor  of  Muley  Moluc,  thought  that 
Sebastian  yet  lived,  but  this  was  contradicted  by  Dom  Nuiio  Mas- 
carenhas,  a  body  servant  of  the  late  king.  He  asserted  that  he  had 
never  for  a  moment  forsaken  his  master,  who  had  been  put  to  death 
before  his  eyes  by  the  Moors.  The  prisoners  obtained  permission 
to  search  for  the  corpse.  Accompanied  by  a  detachment  of  Moors, 
they  hastened  to  the  place  indicated  by  jMascarenhas,  and  there  they 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  447 

1578 

found  a  body  which,  though  naked,  Resende,  a  valet  of  Sebastian, 
instantly  declared  to  be  that  of  his  master.  It  was  conveyed  to  the 
tent  of  the  Moorish  king,  when  it  was  again  recognized  by  Dom 
Duarte  de  Menezes  and  by  other  nobles.  The  tears  which  they  shed 
on  this  occasion  are  proof  that  they  at  least  believed  the  body  before 
them  to  be  the  mortal  relics  of  their  king.  The  body  was  carefully 
preserved  by  Muley  Hamet,  until  it  was  subsequently  delivered  to 
the  ambassadors  of  the  king  of  Spain,  and  by  them  transferred  to 
Portugal, 

Never  was  victory  more  signal  that  that  of  Alcazar-Seguer. 
Of  the  Portuguese  force  which  had  left  Lisbon,  fifty  individuals 
only  returned;  the  rest  were  dead  or  in  captivity,  and  with  them 
the  chivalry  of  the  kingdom.  Eighty  of  the  nobles,  through  the 
good  offices  of  Philip,  were  subsequently  ransomed  for  400,000 
crusados.  Had  Don  Antonio  de  Portugal,  the  prior  of  Crato,  been 
among  the  number,  he  would  have  found  more  difficulty  in  escaping; 
but  being  captured  by  a  Moor,  and  taken  to  a  neighboring  village, 
he  had  address  enough  to  hide  his  real  quality,  and  to  obtain  his 
deliverance  for  2,000  crusados.  This  battle  was  fatal  to  more 
kings  than  two.  Muley  Hamet,  seeing  the  total  ruin  of  his  allies, 
fled  from  the  field,  and  was  drowned  while  attempting  to  pass 
a  river. 

On  the  character  of  this  prince,  after  the  preceding  relation,  it 
is  needless  to  dwell.  The  obstinacy  with  which  Sebastian  adhered 
to  his  resolution,  in  opposition  to  representations  the  most  forcible 
and  pathetic,  the  lamentable  imbecility  which  he  displayed  alike  in 
the  preparation  and  execution  of  his  purpose,  prove  that  his  only 
virtue  was  courage. 

For  some  time  the  nation,  unwilling  to  believe  that  Sebastian 
had  perished,  regarded  Henrique  (Henry  "the  Cardinal")  merely 
as  regent;  but  on  the  arrival  of  the  royal  body,  and  on  the  confirma- 
tion of  the  catastrophe  by  every  Portuguese  who  arrived  from 
Africa,  the  cardinal,  the  last  surviving  male  of  the  ancient  house, 
was  solemnly  crowned.  On  his  accession  lie  exhibited  a  petty  re- 
sentment against  those  who  had  intrigued  to  his  prejudice  during 
the  preceding  reign  :  some  he  degraded,  otlicrs  lie  merely  exiled  trom 
court.  In  other  respects  he  was  an  estimable  man.  hut  an  in- 
different prince.  His  short  reign  from  157S  to  15S0  has  nothing  t.j 
distinguish  it  beyond  the  intrigues  of  candidates  for  the  throne, 
which,  as  he  was  in  his  sixtv-seventli  vear.  broken  tlown  by  in- 


448  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1578 

firmities,  and  evidently  on  the  verge  of  the  tomb,  could  not  fail  to 
be  soon  vacant.  It  was  hoped  that  the  nomination  of  an  heir 
during  his  life,  and  the  recognition  of  one  by  the  states  of  the  king- 
dom, would  avert  the  troubles  inseparable  from  a  disputed 
succession.  At  first,  indeed,  he  was  advised  to  marry,  and  applica- 
tion was  actually  made  to  the  pope  for  the  necessary  bull  of 
secularization;  but  Philip  of  Spain,  who  had  so  close  an  interest 
in  the  affair,  frustrated  his  views  at  the  pontifical  court  and  com- 
pelled him  to  abandon  them. 

The  candidates  for  the  throne  of  Henrique  were:  i,  Antonio, 
prior  of  Crato,  who  affirmed  that  his  father  Luis,  brother  of  Joam 
III.,  was  married  to  his  mother,  and  that  he  was  consequently  legiti- 
mate; 2,  Joam,  duke  of  Braganza,  in  right  of  his  mother  Catherina, 
a  younger  daughter  of  the  infante  Dom  Duarte,  the  youngest  son  of 
Manuel ;  3,  Rainucci,  prince  of  Parma,  whose  mother  Maria  was 
the  eldest  daughter  of  Dom  Duarte;  4,  Manuel  Philibert,  duke  of 
Savoy,  sprung  from  Beatrix,  a  younger  daughter  of  King  Manuel ; 
5,  Philip,  king  of  Spain,  whose  claim  was  twofold:  his  mother, 
Isabel,  being  eldest  daughter  of  Manuel,  and  his  first  queen,  Maria, 
eldest  daughter  of  Joam  III.  From  this  genealogy  nothing  can  be 
more  clear  than  that,  if  the  claim  were  to  be  decided  by  consanguin- 
ity alone,  Philip's  was  by  far  the  most  powerful ;  but  by  the  laws  of 
Lamego,  the  princess  who  accepted  a  foreign  husband  was  ipso  facto 
excluded  from  the  throne.  Hence,  according  to  the  strict  letter 
of  the  constitution,  Isabel  and  Beatrix,  the  daughters  of  Manuel 
and  Maria,  the  daughter  of  Duarte,  had,  by  their  marriages  with 
the  Emperor  Charles,  the  duke  of  Savoy,  and  the  prince  of  Parma, 
renounced  all  claim  to  the  succession :  hence,  too,  by  their  exclusion 
Joam  was  the  true  heir.  Besides — and  Philip  was  probably  aware 
of  the  fact — the  law  of  exclusion,  in  its  very  origin,  had  been  ex- 
pressly aimed  at  the  probability  of  a  union  with  Castile.  Its  pro- 
mulgators foresaw  that  matrimonial  alliances  would  often  connect 
the  two  royal  houses ;  and  they  could  not  be  ignorant  tliat,  if  the 
same  prince  ever  became  heir  to  the  two  crowns,  the  lesser  must 
be  absorbed  in  the  greater — the  independence  of  Portugal  must 
be  at  an  end.  But  the  hatred  of  the  Portuguese  for  the  Cas- 
tilians  was  as  deep,  cordial,  and  everlasting  now  as  in  the  days 
of  Beatrix,  when  they  preferred  the  bastard  grand  master  of  Avis 
to  that  princess. 

Though  Philip  well  knew  the  antipathy  borne  to  him  by  the 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  449 

1579-1580 

populace, — though  he  was  convinced  that  they  would  even  prefer 
the  bastard  Antonio  to  him, — he  also  knew  that  now,  as  on  the 
occasion  to  which  we  have  just  referred,  a  considerable  number  of 
the  more  powerful  nobility,  and  still  more  of  the  clergy,  were  in 
favor  of  the  legitimate  order  of  succession.  The  first  step  of 
Henrique,  in  a  position  at  once  so  difficult  and  delicate,  was  to  con- 
voke the  states  of  the  monarchy,  in  which  he  proposed  that  the 
choice  of  a  successor  should  be  left  to  five  nobles  and  prelates,  whom 
he  would  select  from  fifteen  nominated  by  themselves.  As  Philip 
was  well  aware  that  most  of  them  would  be  selected  by  the  third 
estate,  the  deputies  of  the  people,  who  to  a  man  were  opposed  to 
him,  he  made  every  corner  of  Spain  resound  with  the  noise  of  his 
warlike  preparations.  In  the  meantime  his  ambassadors  served  his 
views  at  the  Portuguese  court :  they  procured  the  dismissal  from 
Lisbon  of  the  two  native  candidates — the  duke  of  Braganza  and  the 
prior  de  Crato,  whose  intrigues  were  to  be  dreaded.  The  latter 
was  ordered  to  produce  the  alleged  proofs  of  his  legitimacy,  which 
the  cardinal  king  soon  pronounced  to  be  forgeries.  The  five  com- 
missioners were  appointed,  and  an  oath  was  exacted  from  the  nobles, 
deputies,  and  native  candidates  to  abide  by  their  decision.  When, 
in  January,  1580,  the  three  estates  were  reassembled  at  Almerin, 
there  was  so  much  jealousy  among  them — the  deputies  pretending 
that  with  them  alone  rested  the  designation  of  a  successor, — and  the 
delays  interposed  were  so  serious,  that  Henrique,  who  felt  his  end 
approaching,  after  consulting  with  the  commissioners  declared  the 
number  of  candidates  reduced  to  two,  the  duke  of  Braganza  and 
the  king  of  Spain.  He  is  said,  probably  with  justice,  to  have  been 
personally  favorable  to  the  claims  of  the  former,  but  that  his  dying 
bed  was  beset  by  the  creatures  of  the  latter,  who  would  not  allow 
him  to  declare  for  the  duke.  However  this  be,  one  of  his  last  acts 
was  to  confirm  the  powers  of  the  commissioners,  whom  the  states, 
in  the  event  of  his  death,  had  sworn  to  obey  as  regents,  and  to 
whom  alone  was  confided  this  momentous  decision.  Besides  the 
university  of  Evora,  he  founded  several  religious  houses,  reformed 
more,  and,  as  the  inquisitor-general,  he  extended  alike  the  authority 
and  establishments  of  the  holy  office. 

On  the  death  of  Henrique,  the  regents,  of  whom  three  were 
believed  to  be  in  the  interests  of  Philip,  were  naturally  opposed 
by  the  deputies,  who  were  in  favor  of  Dom  Antonio.  Con- 
fiding in  the  number  of  his  partisans,  the  latter  forgot  his  oath 


450  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1580 

to  abide  by  the  judgment  of  the  regents,  and  hastened  to  Lisbon 
to  make  a  violent  effort  for  the  vacant  crown.  He  there  called 
on  the  magistrates  to  receive  him  as  king,  but  they  advised  him 
to  remove  from  that  capital,  asserting  that  they  would  recognize 
no  man  who  had  not  the  suffrages  of  the  regents.  In  the  mean- 
time Philip,  who  had  ordered  his  army  to  meet  at  Badajos,  and 
had  placed  the  celebrated  duke  of  Alva  at  its  head,  loudly  pro- 
claimed his  resolution  to  vindicate  his  rights  by  the  sword.  To 
the  request  of  the  regents  that  he  would  disband  it,  he  replied 
that  he  did  not  recognize  their  authority,  and  that  he  would  hold 
them  responsible  for  the  bloodshed  which  might  follow.  In  June, 
having  solemnly  declared  war  against  Portugal,  with  about  24,000 
men  he  passed  the  frontier  and  immediately  received  the  submis- 
sion of  Elvas  and  some  minor  places  in  the  vicinity.  This  success 
did  not  damp  the  hopes  of  Dom  Antonio.  With  the  view  of  imi- 
tating the  conduct  of  the  grand  master  of  Avis,  afterwards  Joam 
I. — a  prince  whom  in  many  respects  he  strongly  resembled — he 
invited  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  bordering  on  Santarem  to 
meet  him  in  that  capital,  to  consult  with  him  on  the  means  of 
their  common  defense.  When  assembled,  he  requested  them  to 
recognize  him  as  governor  of  the  kingdom ;  but  one  of  his  crea- 
tures suddenly  exclaiming,  "Real,  real,  por  el  rei  Dom  Antonio!" 
— the  customary  acclamation  of  a  new  monarch — the  mob  caught 
the  impulse  and  hailed  him  as  king.  From  Santarem  he  repaired 
to  Lisbon — the  regents  fleeing  at  his  approach — and  was  there, 
in  like  manner,  proclaimed  by  his  partisans.  At  Setubal  the  re- 
gents found  the  current  of  popular  feeling  so  strong  that  in  a 
few  days  they  precipitately  fled  into  the  Algarves;  indeed,  they 
had  scarcely  issued  from  the  gates  when  both  soldiers  and  people 
proclaimed  Dom  Antonio.  At  Lisbon,  where  the  usurper  soon 
formed  an  administration,  they  were  declared  rebels,  and  a  party 
of  cavalry  sent  in  pursuit  of  them. 

This  intelligence  quickened  the  operations  of  the  Duke  of 
Alva,  to  whom  Philip,  who  remained  at  Badajos,  intrusted  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  Villaviciosa,  Villabuin,  Estremos,  Monte- 
mor,  Evora-Monte,  Arroyolos,  Vimiero,  and  many  other  places 
were  either  finally  reduced  or  they  voluntarily  submitted  to  him. 
The  Duke  of  Braganza,  perceiving  how  the  fortune  of  the  war 
was  likely  to  run,  convinced  that  there  was  no  prospect  of  success 
for  him,  and  naturally  preferring  submission  to  a  powerful  nion- 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  451 

1580 

arch  before  the  rule  of  a  less  honorable  rival,  hastened  to  make 
his  peace  with  the  Castilian.  As  a  considerable  party  had  hitherto 
advocated  his  claim,  this  step  greatly  smoothed  the  path  of  the 
invaders.  Many  nobles  flocked  to  their  standard;  Alcazar  do  Sal 
received  them,  and  after  some  hesitation  even  Setubal  followed 
the  example.  But  the  grand  object  of  his  operations  was  the  re- 
duction of  Lisbon,  towards  which  he  advanced.  The  town  of 
Belem  was  soon  forced  to  capitulate;  Dom  Antonio,  who  showed 
no  want  either  of  courage  or  ability,  was  assailed  in  his  entrench- 
ments, was  defeated  with  severe  loss,  and  forced  to  retreat  on 
Coimbra.  Lisbon  was  summoned.  To  crown  the  triumph  of  the 
victors,  both  that  capital  and  the  Portuguese  fleet  fell  into  their 
hands ;  and  by  the  inhabitants  Philip  was  solemnly  proclaimed 
king  of  Portugal  and  entered  upon  his  reign  (1580- 1598). 

The  submission  of  the  capital  and  most  of  the  great  cities 
of  the  kingdom  was  not  sufficient  for  the  Duke  of  Alva.  He 
knew  that  Dom  Antonio  was  still  at  the  head  of  12,000 
men,  actively  endeavoring  to  increase  the  number,  and  he  dis- 
patched Don  Sancho  de  Avila  in  pursuit  of  him.  The  inhabitants 
of  Coimbra,  terrified  at  the  severity  with  which  the  suburbs  of 
Lisbon  had  been  treated  for  opposing  the  arms  of  the  victor, 
instantly  admitted  the  Castilians  and  swore  homage  to  Philip,  but 
the  prior  had  retired  to  Aveiro.  Even  here  he  could  not  hope 
for  continued  safety,  and  he  proceeded  towards  Oporto,  the  authori- 
ties of  which  had  shown  some  zeal  in  his  behalf,  and  even  intimated 
that  his  presence  alone  was  wanting  to  secure  their  steadfast 
attachment.  But  his  expulsion  from  Lisbon,  the  defection  of 
Coimbra  and  Aveiro,  and  the  almost  universal  submission  to  the 
Castilian  king  soon  changed  their  sentiments.  They  offered  the 
keys  of  their  city  to  the  duke,  and  when  Antonio  arrived  they 
refused  to  admit  him;  but  some  of  his  partisans  opened  the  gates, 
and  enabled  him  to  wreak  his  vengeance  on  his  more  obnoxious 
enemies.  The  excesses  which  he  committed  in  that  city  disgusted 
even  them.  Not  satisfied  with  plundering  some  of  the  richest 
merchants  and  ecclesiastics,  he  exacted  a  heavy  contribution  from 
all,  as  the  price  of  refraining  from  universal  pillage.  In  the  mean- 
time, Don  Sanclio  advanced,  without  opposition,  to  Villa-Nova, 
whicli  is  separated  from  Oporto  by  the  Duero.  The  crossing  of 
that  broad  and  deep  river  was  effected  with  difficulty  but  little  loss, 
and  the  Portuguese  drawn  up  to  oppose  it  were  easily  dispersed. 


452  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1580-1583 

Under  the  walls  of  the  city  Dom  Antonio  marshaled  9,000  men, 
resolved  to  make  a  final  stand  for  this  last  of  his  possessions:  but 
his  men  were  chiefly  raw  levies,  who  scarcely  waited  for  the  charge. 
They  fled  within  the  walls ;  the  pursuers  were  also  admitted,  and  the 
banner  of  Philip  was  hoisted  on  the  towers.  Amidst  the  hurry  and 
confusion  of  the  scene  Dom  Antonio  escaped  to  Viana  do  Minho, 
where  he  embarked,  but  so  tempestuous  was  the  weather  that  he 
was  compelled  to  land.  His  destruction  seemed  certain,  but  he 
eluded  his  pursuers,  notwithstanding  that  a  large  sum  had  been 
offered,  by  royal  proclamation,  to  whomsoever  should  take  him, 
dead  or  alive;  and  with  the  view  of  strengthening  the  zeal  of  his 
adherents,  he  wandered,  in  disguise,  from  one  town  to  another, 
until  he  procured  the  means  of  escape  into  France. 

While  the  adventurous  prior  was  thus  cast  from  the  pinnacle 
of  empire  and  constrained  to  seek  for  a  precarious  safety  by  flight, 
Philip,  who  had  been  confined  by  sickness  and  delayed  by  the  death 
of  his  queen  (Anna)  at  Badajoz,  hastened  at  length  to  take  per- 
sonal possession  of  a  kingdom  which  his  able  general  had  con- 
quered for  him.  He  felt  that  it  was  both  his  duty  and  his  interest 
to  conciliate  his  new  subjects,  and  he  resolved,  with  this  view,  to 
lay  aside  his  natural  sternness  of  manner  and  refuse  no  reasonable 
boon  that  should  be  demanded.  Having  given  orders  for  preserv- 
ing the  strictest  discipline  among  his  troops,  he  convoked  the  states 
at  Tomar,  where  he  swore  to  observe  the  laws,  customs,  usages, 
and  privileges  of  the  kingdom,  but  in  the  amnesty  which  he  pub- 
lished on  the  occasion  he  displeased  the  Portuguese  by  excepting 
Dom  Antonio  and  fifty-two  other  persons,  and  the  duke  and 
duchess  of  Braganza,  by  refusing  to  comply  with  their  extravagant 
demands.  From  Tomar  he  proceeded  to  Lisbon,  where  he  was 
received  with  much  outward  respect,  but  with  much  inward  reluc- 
tance. He  was,  however,  acknowledged,  not  only  by  the  whole  king- 
dom, but  by  the  Indies  and  the  three  African  fortresses.  The  Azores 
alone  were  disaffected  to  his  sway:  some  of  the  islands  refused  to 
acknowledge  him,  defeated  his  general  Valdes,  and  acquainted  Dom 
Antonio,  who  was  then  in  France,  with  their  disposition  and  suc- 
cess. That  prince,  with  some  money  and  troops  furnished  by  the 
queens  of  France  and  England,  repaired  to  those  islands  to 
strengthen  the  force  of  his  partisans.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
marquis  of  Santa  Cruz  sailed  with  a  few  sliips  to  establish  the 
power  of  Philip  in  the  Angra,  and  the  other  places  which  now 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  453 

1583-1585 

refused  to  submit.  In  a  naval  engagement  this  active  officer  easily 
triumphed  over  the  French  and  English  adventurers  (chiefly  the 
former),  of  whom  more  than  3,000  fell;  but  he  stained  his  laurels 
by  the  execution  of  his  prisoners. 

But  though  the  monarch  was  recognized  by  both  the  mother- 
country  and  her  colonies ;  though  he  conferred  many  privileges  on 
his  new  subjects,  greater,  assuredly,  than  were  ever  possessed  by 
the  Castilians;  though  he  considerably  diminished  his  resources  by 
grants  to  such  as  had  espoused  his  pretensions ;  though  every  place, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  was  filled  by  natives  alone;  though 
he  was  as  affable  to  all  as  his  natural  disposition  would  allow,  and 
was  not  guilty  of  a  single  arbitrary  act,  he  soon  found  that  he  was 
not,  and  could  never  be,  a  favorite  in  Portugal.  In  fact,  the  dis- 
content was  so  great  that  instead  of  withdrawing,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  augment  the  Castilian  troops  in  the  fortresses,  a  measure 
which,  however  necessary,  was  regarded  with  bitter  dissatisfaction. 
After  about  two  years'  residence  in  the  country  he  prepared  to 
return  into  Castile,  a  circumstance  that  more  than  any  other 
wounded  the  national  pride.  The  Portuguese  had  always  been 
accustomed  to  a  resident  monarch ;  they  now  murmured  at  the 
sway  of  a  viceroy.  To  remind  them  that  Spain  was  a  kingdom  as 
well  as  their  own,  and  had  an  equal  claim  at  "least  to  the  presence 
of  a  sovereign,  would  have  been  vain ;  they  were  unreasonable 
enough  to  expect  that  Spain  should  be  united  with  their  own  coun- 
try,— that  a  great  monarchy  should  become  dependent  on  a  prov- 
ince. Philip  paid  little  regard  to  the  clamor:  having  caused  his 
son  to  be  proclaimed  his  successor,  and  invested  his  nephew,  the 
Cardinal  Archduke  Albert,  with  the  regency,  he  proceeded  to  the 
Escurial. 

During  the  next  few  years  Portugal  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  foreign  or  domestic  policy  of  Philip.  Governed  with  great 
moderation  by  the  archduke,  enjoying  internal  peace,  an  extended 
commerce,  and  a  high  degree  of  prosperity,  she  might  have  been 
happy — happier  than  she  had  ever  been  under  her  native  monarchs 
— could  hereditary  enmity  have  been  forgotten  and  national  pride 
sacrificed  to  interest.  The  exiled  Antonio  was  made  aware  of  the 
existing  discontent :  he  had  many  well-wishers  and  not  a  few  spies 
in  the  country  who  constantly  communicated  with  him.  After 
the  second  defeat  of  his  armament  in  the  Azores  he  abode  at  the 
French  court,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  increased  supplies  for  an 


454  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1585-1595 

invasion  of  Portugal ;  but  as  the  civil  wars  which  raged  in  the 
former  country  were  likely  to  prove  interminable,  he  passed  over 
into  England  to  renew  his  intrigues  with  the  earl  of  Essex.  He 
arrived  at  a  favorable  time,  just  after  the  destruction  of  the  Spanish 
armada,  when  the  resentment  of  the  English  was.  at  the  highest 
pitch,  and  they  were  longing  for  revenge.  At  first,  however, 
Elizabeth,  with  her  usual  prudence,  disapproved  of  the  project  of  a 
Portuguese  invasion;  but,  with  her  usual  weakness,  wherever  the 
tend^  passion  was  concerned,  she  was  persuaded  by  the  favorite 
earl  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the  exile,  and  to  equip  an  arma- 
ment for  placing  him  on  the  throne.  Nothing  can  better  exhibit 
the  unprincipled  impostor  than  certain  conditions  on  his  side  of 
that  alliance.  In  conformity  with  the  English  article  of  the  treaty, 
— one  not  over  honorable  to  Elizabeth  herself,  since  she  grasped 
at  advantages  which  generosity,  or  even  justice,  would  have 
scorned, — 20,000  men  were  embarked  at  Plymouth  in  120  vessels, 
the  whole  commanded  by  Drake  and  Norris.  The  success  of  this 
expedition  corresponded  with  its  flagitious  design.  After  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  on  Coruna,  the  armament  cast  anchor  at 
Peniche,  and  disembarked  the  troops  who  marched  to  Torres 
Vedras,  where  they  proclaimed  Dom  Antonio,  and  continued  their 
route  towards  the  capital.  But  the  peasantry,  instead  of  joining 
his  standard,  fled  at  his  approach,  some  to  increase  the  force  of  the 
archduke :  scarcely  a  Portuguese,  high  or  low,  came  over  to  his 
party.  As  the  English  general  approached  the  suburbs,  the  monks, 
the  women,  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  retired  within  the  city. 
Still  there  were,  doubtless,  many  who  wished  well  to  the  cause  of 
the  adventurer,  not  from  affection  to  him,  but  through  hatred  of 
the  Spaniards;  the  majority,  however,  remained  neutral.  The  ill- 
success  of  the  English,  who  repeatedly  assailed  the  outworks,  stifled 
the  intrigues  of  the  disaffected,  and  a  vigorous  sortie  decided  the 
fate  of  the  expedition.  The  English  general,  who  throughout 
exhibited  strange  imbecility,  retreated ;  he  was  pursued ;  many  of 
his  followers  were  cut  off;  with  the  rest  he  sought  refuge  in  the 
tower  of  Cascaes,  which  the  cowardly  governor  surrendered  to  him. 
Here,  considering  the  want  of  provisions,  and  the  deception  which 
had  been  practiced  on  him  by  Dom  Antonio,  who  had  persuaded 
him  tliat  the  moment  a  hostile  standard  were  raised  it  would  be 
joined  by  all  true  Portuguese,  he  wisely  resolved  to  return  home. 
This  was  fortunately  the  last  time  Portugal  was  cursed  with  the 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  455 

1595-1621 

prior's  presence.  Deserted  by  his  nearest  friends,  neglected  by 
the  sovereigns,  his  former  allies,  in  1595  he  ended  his  unprincipled 
life  in  merited  obscurity  and  indigence. 

The  remaining  actions  of  Philip  must  be  sought  in  the  history 
of  Spain.  Four  years  before  his  death,  on  the  removal  of  the 
cardinal  regent  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Toledo,  the  government 
of  Portugal  was  intrusted  to  a  commission  of  five,  at  the  end  of 
whom  was  the  archbishop  of  Lisbon.     In     1598  he  diedc 

Philip  I.  of  Portugal  was  Philip  II.  of  Spain  and  the  two  kings 
of  that  name  who  followed  him,  while  Philip  II.  and  Philip  III.  of 
Portugal,  must  be  identified  as  Philip  III.  and  Philip  IV.  of  Spain. 
The  former  of  these  princes,  in  the  course  of  his  reign,  from 
1598  to  162 1,  visited  his  Portuguese  subjects  only  once.  On  this 
occasion  the  hungry  and  ambitious  chivalry  expected  much  from 
his  liberality;  but,  except  a  few,  all  were  disappointed.  None  but 
such  as  showed  a  zealous  attachment  to  Spain  and  approved 
the  measures  emanating  from  Madrid,  however  contrary  to 
the  interests  or  prejudices  of  the  natives,  could  hope  to  share 
in  the  royal  favor.  Nor,  after  the  first  enthusiasm  of  his 
reception  was  past,  did  the  populace  admire  their  king :  if  he  did 
not  treat  them  with  studied  insult, — a  charge  leveled  at  him  by  the 
Portuguese  historians, — he  exhibited  so  great  a  predilection 
towards  his  hereditary  subjects  that  he  could  not  fail  mortally  to 
offend  a  people  who  would  not  even  have  been  satisfied  with  an 
equal  share  of  his  attention.  How  much  of  truth  may  be  con- 
tained in  the  accusations  against  him  would  be  vain  to  inquire: 
that  they  are  exaggerated  may  safely  be  admitted ;  yet  exaggera- 
tion proves  that  abuses  existed,  however  party  coloring  may  have 
affected  their  description. 

If  the  Portuguese  had  so  much  reason  to  complain  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  second  Philip,  that  of  his  son  and  successor,  Philip 
III.  (1621-1640)  was,  doubtless,  still  more  onerous.  A  good  gov- 
ernment, like  that  of  Philip  I.,  would  have  been  hated;  a  bad  one 
would  naturally  add  to  the  existing  mass  of  discontent.  That  the 
weak,  the  profligate,  and  the  unprincipled  conde.  Due  de  Olivares, 
could  direct  the  affairs  of  this  kingdom  with  advantage  either  to  it  or 
to  his  royal  master  will  not  be  expected  by  anyone  who  has  perused 
the  account  of  his  administration  in  Spain.  He  not  only  aggravated 
the  abuses  of  his  predecessors,  but  added  greatly  to  their  number. 
That  he  had  resolved  to  reduce  the  kingdom  to  the  condition  of  a 


456  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1621-1640 

province,  to  destroy  its  regalities,  its  independent  jurisdiction,  its 
separate  legislature,  may,  however,  be  doubted;  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt,  that,  by  forced  loans,  by  intolerable  taxes,  and  by  using 
the  native  soldiers  to  foreign  wars,  he  wished  to  break  the  proud 
spirit  of  the  people — to  make  them  the  mere  slaves  of  his  will. 
Finding  themselves  ground  to  the  very  earth  by  exactions,  their 
complaints  disregarded,  their  persons  insulted,  their  prosperity  at 
an  end,  we  need  not  wonder  that  they  turned  their  eyes  towards 
the  Duke  of  Braganza,  the  next  heir  in  the  order  of  succession. 
Too  discerning  not  to  perceive  the  rising  sentiment,  and  too  saga- 
cious to  show  that  he  perceived  it,  that  ambitious  noble  adopted  a 
line  of  conduct  which  could  not  fail  to  forward  his  views.  Though 
pressed,  the  duke  was  too  wise  to  declare  himself  at  this  moment: 
he  knew  that  his  combinations  were  not  formed,  that  the  chief 
nobility  were  yet  to  be  gained,  that  the  all-powerful  voice  of  the 
clergy  could  not  yet  be  commanded,  and  that  a  mere  popular  ebul- 
lition, unconnected  with  mature  plans  and  simultaneous  operations 
with  the  other  arms  of  the  state,  would  be  worse  than  useless;  he 
therefore  determined  to  await  the  silent  but  resistless  course  of 
events.  The  sequel  soon  justified  his  policy.  The  chief  nobles, 
prelates,  cavalleros,  and  clergy  were  suddenly  summoned  to  Madrid. 
What  could  be  the  object  in  this  mysterious,  unexpected,  and 
unparalleled  mandate?  Conjecture  was  vain:  to  disobey  it  would 
be  dangerous,  and  a  magnificent  display  of  retinues  immediately 
filled  the  road  from  Lisbon  to  the  Spanish  capital.  What  passed 
at  the  conference  between  the  ministers  and  this  deputation  will 
never  be  known,  but  that  some  extraordinary  concession  was 
required  from  them  may  easily  be  believed.  That  their  consent 
was  demanded  to  the  incorporation  of  the  Portuguese  with  the 
Spanish  Cortes,  or  that  a  certain  number  of  deputies  from  the  three 
estates  should  be  summoned  at  the  same  time  with  those  of  Cas- 
tile, in  other  words,  that  the  kingdom  should  be  forever  degraded 
to  the  rank  of  a  province,  is  loudly  affirmed  by  the  Portuguese. 
But  another  reason  for  this  extraordinary  mandate  may  be  assigned, 
more  plausible  than  any.  The  court  could  not  be  ignorant  of  the 
disposition  of  the  people  towards  the  Duke  of  Braganza,  nor,  per- 
haps, with  his  intrigues.  His  arrest  might  be  resolved  on :  and, 
as  it  could  not  be  effected  in  Portugal,  where  his  connections  were 
so  numerous  and  powerful,  he  must  be  inveigled  to  Madrid.  This 
supposition  is  confirmed  by  three  facts:    he  had  evaded  compliance 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  457 

1640 

when  summoned  alone  to  the  capital ;  he  was  not  present  now ;  and 
the  subsequent  endeavors  of  the  minister  to  draw  him  to  Madrid 
were  as  earnest  as  they  were  ineffectual.  Disappointed  in  his  views, 
Olivares  now  proceeded  more  boldly :  he  ordered  all  the  disposable 
troops  in  Portugal  to  march  into  Catalonia  and  the  Duke  of 
Braganza  to  place  himself  at  their  head.  But  the  war  of  Catalonia 
was  not  a  national  object:  it  concerned  the  Castilians  only;  both 
nobles  and  people  resolved  to  disobey  the  mandate ;  but,  lest  an  open 
refusal  should  subject  them  to  instant  invasion,  they  merely 
demanded  a  short  delay,  until  their  preparations  were  matured. 
In  the  meantime  the  Duke  of  Braganza  was  pursuing  his  end 
with  persevering  art:  knowing  how  suspicious  was  the  Spanish 
court,  how  jealously  every  action  was  watched,  he  plunged  more 
deeply  into  his  favorite  amusements,  and  asserted,  that  when  the 
troops  were  ready  to  march,  he  should  not  be  wanting  at  his  post. 
Though  his  emissaries  were  busily  occupied,  it  is  certain  that  he 
himself  was  not  eager  to  risk  his  own  person.  If  the  conspiracy 
succeeded,  he  was  willing  enough  to  reap  the  advantage;  if  it  failed, 
he  wished  to  avoid  implication  in  it.  At  length,  when  obedience  or 
open  refusal  to  the  orders  of  the  court  was  imperative,  the  conspira- 
tors hastened  to  Lisbon  and  began  their  meetings  in  the  gardens  of 
Antonio  de  Almada.  It  was  agreed  that  one  of  their  body  should 
be  deputed  to  see  the  duke,  to  know  whether  he  would  accept  and 
defend  the  crown  without  delay.  His  consent  was  obtained  and 
a  day  appointed  for  the  insurrection.  The  day  (December  i)  at 
length  dawned  and  found  the  conspirators,  who  were  admirably 
organized,  prepared  for  the  struggle.  A  pistol  was  fired  near  the 
entrance  of  the  palace,  and  in  a  moment  two  numerous  bands,  both 
well  armed,  entered  by  different  portals  and  fell  on  the  Castilian 
and  Swiss  guards,  while  the  simultaneous  rallying  cry  of  "  Live  our 
King  Joam  IV. !  "  sufficiently  indicated  the  design  of  the  assault. 
The  guard  being  overpowered,  the  conspirators  rushed  towards  the 
apartments  of  the  vicc-qucen.  ^Meeting  an  officer  of  the  household, 
they  shouted  "Joam  IV.!  "  he  raised  the  cry  of  "  Philip  forever!  " 
and  was  instantly  laid  dead  at  their  feet.  The  conspirators  were 
now  joined  by  thousands  of  the  populace;  the  cry  of  "  Viva  cl  rci 
Joam  IV.!"  became  uni\crsal;  a  council  of  regency  was  formed,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  the  archbishop  of  Lisbon;  orders  were  sent 
into  the  provinces  to  proclaim  the  new  king  without  delay ;  they 
were  everywhere  executed  with  the  most  hearty  good-will ;  Joam 


458  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1557-1640 

was  triumphantly  escorted  to  the  capital,  and  the  scepter  of  Spain 
was  forever  broken  by  the  election  of  the  house  of  Braganza. 

Meanwhile  in  the  narrative  of  domestic  transactions,  from 
the  accession  of  Sebastian  to  that  of  Joam  IV.,  it  is  well  to  note 
the  chief  events  which,  during  that  period,  occurred  in  the 
colonies. 

In  India,  though  the  prosperity  of  the  Portuguese  empire 
was  evidently  on  the  decline,  the  viceroys  were  sometimes  good 
men,  and  the  inferior  governors  always  brave:  hence  its  ruin 
was  gradual.  Under  Constantine  de  Braganza,  successor  of  Bar- 
reto,  Daman,  a  city  belonging  to  the  king  of  Cambay,  was  added 
to  the  empire,  and  the  island  of  Ternate  was  reconquered ;  the  king 
of  Cananor  and  the  zamorin  of  Calicut  were  humbled;  the  Abys- 
sinians  were  protected  against  the  Turks;  some  acquisitions  were 
made  in  Ceylon,  and  the  petty  princes  of  Malabar,  ever  prone  to 
hostilities,  were  defeated.  Under  the  same  governor,  Goa  was 
elevated  into  an  archbishopric  and  two  suffragans  were  sent  to  aid 
him  in  the  important  office — the  means,  alas !  were,  too  often,  sword 
and  fagot — of  converting  the  heathen.  The  administration  of 
Don  Luis  de  Ataide  was  signalized  by  the  defeat  of  the  combined 
Hindu  princes,  who  laid  siege  to  Goa,  and  by  other  successes, 
splendid,  indeed,  so  far  as  regarded  the  valor  of  the  Portuguese, 
the  disproportion  of  their  force  with  that  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
signal  discomfiture  of  the  latter,  but  of  no  advantage  beyond  the 
fame  of  victory.  On  the  recall  of  this  valiant  noble,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  eastern  empire  was  divided  into  three: — The  chief, 
called,  par  excellence,  the  government  of  India,  comprised  the  mari- 
time regions  from  Cape  Guadafar,  on  the  coast  of  Ethiopia,  to  the 
island  of  Ceylon;  the  second,  that  of  Monomotapa,  comprehended 
the  African  coasts,  from  that  region  to  the  Conga;  the  third,  that 
of  Malacca,  extended  from  Pegu  to  China.  The  second  of  these 
governments  was  of  no  long  continuance ;  the  first  was  still  acknowl- 
edged as  the  viceroyalty.  Ataide  was  a  second  time  appointed  to 
the  dignity,  and  such  was  the  luster  of  his  administration  that  the 
golden  days  of  the  Albuquerques  seemed  for  a  moment  to  be  revived. 
But  the  rapacity  of  the  governor  of  Malacca  lost  the  Moluccas, 
except  one  settlement  on  the  island  of  Tidon.  Under  the  Conde  de 
Santa  Cruz  several  successful  expeditions  were  sent  against  the 
Mohammedan  corsairs  who  infested  the  African  and  Indian  coasts. 
But  it  is  impossible  to  mention,  much  more  to  detail,  the  inter- 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  459 

1557-1640 

minable  wars  which  were  undertaken  by  succeeding  vice- 
roys. We  shall  observe,  by  way  of  summary,  that  the  marquis 
almost  uniformly  triumphed  over  his  enemies;  that  his  immediate 
successors  gallantly  defended  the  settlements;  that  under  Francisco 
de  Gama  the  Dutch  first  appeared  in  the  Indian  seas,  and  were 
expelled  by  him ;  that  they  soon  returned  and  inflicted  considerable 
injury  on  the  trading  establishments ;  that  the  English  soon  resolved 
to  share  in  the  lucrative  traffic  of  these  regions;  that  the  Portu- 
guese, English,  and  Dutch  contended  for  the  exclusive  possession 
of  that  traffic ;  that  the  latter  people  formed  settlements,  both  in  the 
eastern  continent  of  India  and  among  the  islands ;  that,  as  their 
power  increased  that  of  the  Portuguese  diminished;  that  the  Por- 
tuguese were  frequently  defeated  by  the  Dutch,  who  expelled  them 
from  Ceylon ;  that  they  regained  possession  of  some  settlements 
on  the  coasts,  but  not  of  their  ancient  influence;  that  in  most  of 
their  subsequent  actions  they  had  the  disadvantage, — the  influence 
of  the  English  and  the  Dutch  evei-y  day  increasing  in  these  seas; 
that  they  were  expelled  from  Ormuz  by  the  Persians ;  that 
even  Goa  itself  was  insulted  by  the  exploits  of  the  Dutch.  In 
short,  on  the  accession  of  Joam  IV.  the  Portuguese  settlements  in 
the  East  were  reduced  to  half  their  former  number,  and  those  that 
remained  were  in  great  peril. 

In  northwest  Africa  the  possessions  in  Mauritania  con- 
tinued to  be  confined  to  the  three  fortresses  which  remained 
from  the  time  of  Joam  III. ;  nor  were  tliose  then  molested.  For 
some  time,  indeed,  Tangier  refused  to  acknowledge  Joam,  and 
adhered  to  Philip  as  the  rightful  sovereign  of  Portugal,  no  less 
than  of  Spain;  but  it  was  surprised  by  a  resolute  body  of  troops, 
headed  by  one  of  Joam's  officers.  In  this  region,  which  from  the 
time  of  Joam  I.  had  been  the  constant  theater  of  war  between  the 
Christians  and  Mohammedans,  uninterrupted  tranquillity  reigned 
from  the  disaster  of  Sebastian.  Xor  on  other  parts  of  the  African 
coast  was  there  much  change  during  the  period  before  us.  The 
Portuguese  continued  to  have  settlements,  rather  for  trade  than 
dominion,  in  Guinea,  Angola,  Congo,  Monomotapa,  ]\Ia(lagascar, 
and  Mozambique.  Yet  even  liere  the  Dutch  showed  tlicir  adven- 
turous spirit:  in  1638  they  rapidly  reduced  Fort  St.  George  on  the 
coast  of  Guinea,  and  the  English  were  ready  enough  to  profit  by 
the  example. 

The    discovery   of    Brazil    has   been    already   related :     settle- 


460  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1557-1640 

ments  continued  to  be  formed  on  that  part  of  the  American  coast 
from  the  reign  of  Manuel  to  that  of  Henrique.  Into  this,  as 
well  as  the  other  possessions  of  the  Portuguese,  the  Chris- 
tian religion  was  introduced;  but  though  the  original  missionaries, 
and  still  more  the  Jesuits,  labored  with  great  zeal  to  disseminate 
it,  such  were  the  obstacles  opposed  by  the  views  of  the  inhabitants 
that  little  good  was  effected.  Nor  was  the  temporal  state  of  the 
Portuguese  dominions  without  its  disasters.  Here,  as  everywhere 
else,  the  Dutch  contended  for  a  share  of  the  commerce;  and  here, 
too,  as  in  India  and  Africa,  that  contention  was  ruinous  to  the 
original  settlers.  In  1624  an  armament  under  Willekens  anchored 
off  the  Brazilian  coast,  with  the  intention  of  engrossing  the  whole 
advantage  of  trade  by  expelling  the  Portuguese.  He  assailed  the 
capital,  San  Salvador,  with  such  fury  that  it  was  compelled  to 
surrender;  and  the  viceroy — it  was  the  seat  of  government  for  the 
province — was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Holland.  This  intelligence 
spread  great  consternation.  To  recover  that  important  settlement, 
the  Portuguese,  though  oppressed  by  the  yoke  of  Spain,  made  a 
surprising  effort: — they  fitted  out  twenty-six  vessels,  carrying 
some  thousands  of  men, — an  effort  the  more  laudable  when  we 
consider  the  interminable  wars  they  were  compelled  to  maintain 
in  India.  San  Salvador  was  speedily  recovered.  But  the  mer- 
chants of  Holland  were  not  discouraged :  they  equipped  new  arma- 
ments, which  inflicted  great  injury  on  the  commerce  of  the  Portu- 
guese. In  fact,  their  ships  covered  the  deep  from  China  to  the 
West  Indies;  and,  next  to  the  hope  of  gain,  their  greatest  stimulus 
was  hatred  to  that  declining  people.  The  district  of  Pernambuco 
soon  acknowledged  the  sway  of  the  republic;  to  regain  it,  another 
armament  left  the  ports  of  the  Peninsula.  This  expedition  was 
disastrous:  in  two  successive  engagements  it  was  almost  annihi- 
lated by  the  Dutch,  and  the  remnant  with  difficulty  reached  Por- 
tugal. A  second,  though  on  a  larger  scale,  was  equally  unsuc- 
cessful; so  that  the  enemy  added  Tamaraca  to  their  other  con- 
quests. Masters  of  above  100  leagues  of  territory,  they  aspired 
to  the  possession  of  all  Brazil.  A  fleet  for  this  purpose  left  the 
Texel,  in  1636,  under  the  command  of  Count  Maurice  of  Nassau. 
In  the  first  action  he  triumphed  over  a  Portuguese  general ;  he 
next  reduced  Porto  Calvo  and  three  other  fortresses.  A  second 
victory  was  followed  by  the  submission  of  other  places,  by  offers 
of  alliance  from  the  natives,  and  by  the  conquest  of  all  Paraiba; 


LAST     OF     ANCIENT     DYNASTY  461 

1557-1640 

but  he  failed  in  an  attack  on  San  Salvador.  In  the  following  cam- 
paign (that  of  1638),  both  parties  having  received  reinforcements, 
contended  in  the  open  field :  the  combined  forces  of  Spain  and 
Portugal  yielded  before  the  energy  of  the  republic.  In  short,  half 
the  settlements  were  in  the  power  of  Count  Maurice,  when  news 
arrived  of  the  accession  of  Joam  IV. 

The  progress  and  decline  of  the  Portuguese  colonial  empire 
would,  if  treated  at  length,  be  an  interesting  subject  of  contem- 
plation. The  successive  acquisition  of  the  islands  on  the  western 
coast  of  Africa;  of  Congo,  Angola,  and  Guinea;  of  Sofa,  Mozam- 
bique, and  Melinda  on  the  eastern;  of  Calicut,  Cochin,  Ormuz, 
Cananor,  Chaul,  Bazain,  Daman,  and  the  whole  maritime  coast 
of  Malabar ;  of  the  vast  regions  of  Brazil ;  of  Ceylon,  Malacca,  and 
the  Moluccas,  exclusive  of  settlements,  purely  commercial,  in 
other  parts;  repeated  triumphs  over  the  most  powerful  princes  of 
the  east, — Persians,  Turks,  Arabs,  Hindoos;  the  monarchs  of 
Bengal,  Aracan,  Pegu,  and  Siam, — all,  too,  performed  by  a  hand- 
ful of  adventurers, — must  strike  the  mind  with  astonishment.  On 
the  accession  of  Joam  the  following  acknowledged  his  scepter : 
half  of  Brazil ;  the  islands  and  settlements  of  western  Africa,  with 
the  fortresses  of  Mauritania,  ]\Iombaza,  and  Mozambique;  the 
cities  of  Diu,  Daman,  Bazain ;  the  district  of  Chaul ;  the  fortresses 
of  Onor,  Bracalor,  Mangalor,  Cananor,  Cangranor;  the  fortresses 
and  towns  of  Cochin,  Coulam,  Negapatam,  Jvleliapoor;  a  part  of 
Ceylon ;  some  settlements  in  Malacca ;  Tidon,  in  the  Moluccas ; 
Macao,  in  China,  and  some  other  places  of  minor  importance:  the 
rest  were  recovered  by  the  original  owners,  or  in  possession  of  the 
Dutch,  English,  and  Spaniards.  \Ye  shall  soon  see  in  how 
precarious  a  state  were  most  of  even  these. 


Chapter   XVIII 

HOUSE    OF   BRAGANZA.     1640-1788 

WHEN  Joam,  or  John,  IV.  succeeded  in  1640,  he  was  not 
so  sanguine  as  to  expect  that  whatever  might  be  the  em- 
barrassments of  the  Spaniards,  and  however  unanimous 
his  own  subjects  in  his  defense,  his  post  would  not  prove  one 
of  difficulty,  perhaps  of  danger.  Hence,  immediately  after 
his  coronation — a  ceremony  performed  with  great  splendor  a 
few  days  succeeding  his  proclamation — and  after  the  convoca- 
tion of  the  states,  in  which  his  title  was  acknowledged,  and  his 
son  Theodosio  declared  his  heir,  he  began  vigorously  to  prepare 
for  the  inevitable  contest.  His  first  step  was  to  send  ambas- 
sadors to  foreign  courts,  to  procure  his  recognition. 

By  France,  England,^  Sweden,  and  the  States-General  these 
ambassadors  were  readily  received;  Denmark  favored  the  views 
of  Joam,  but,  for  fear  of  the  German  emperor,  would  not 
openly  receive  one.  In  this  situation  the  pope  resolved  to 
temporize,  yet  he  leaned  more  to  the  court  of  Spain;  he  withheld 
the  necessary  bulls  of  episcopal  confirmation  during  many  years, 
nor  was  an  ambassador  received  from  Lisbon.  But  these  mis- 
sions produced  no  advantage;  though  promises  of  assistance  were 
made  by  France,  then  at  war  with  Spain — by  England  and  Hol- 
land, which  were  frequently  so — the  new  monarch  found  that  his 
chief  dependence  must  rest  on  the  valor  of  his  own  people.  He 
introduced  a  better  discipline  into  his  army;  he  fortified  Lisbon; 
he  strengthened  his  fortresses,  on  the  Spanish  frontier,  those  espe- 
cially in  Alemtejo ;  he  called  on  the  nation  to  rally  round  the 
throne,  and  the  call  was  heard. 

As  the  Spanish  troops  were  occupied  in  Catalonia,  Philip 
could  bring  no  great  force  to  bear  on  his  revolted  subjects;  nor 
did  Joam,  for  the  same  reason,  judge  a  great  army  necessary  in 

1  In  two  years  afterwards,  a  close  commercial  treaty  between  England  and 
Portugal  was  signed  in  London  by  their  ambassadors,  and  ratified  by  Charles  I. 
and  Joam. 

462 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  463 

1641-1647 

any  one  place.  But  he  maintained  several  respectable  bodies  of 
troops  towards  the  Galician  and  Estremaduran  frontiers.  His 
object  was  defense,  not  aggression,  though  the  impatience  of  his 
soldiers  often  led  them  to  retaliate  on  the  Spaniards  by  predatory 
invasions  into  the  neighboring  territory.  The  hostilities  on  both 
sides  were  disgraced  by  the  most  horrid  excesses.  We  cannot 
dwell  on  hostilities  perpetually  recurring,  and,  during  the  life  of 
Joam,  uniformly  indecisive;  they  commenced  in  1641  and  con- 
tinued, with  intermissions,  to  the  last  year  of  that  prince.  Let  it 
be  sufficient  to  observe  that,  in  general,  they  were  in  favor  of  the 
Portuguese,  who  reduced  several  of  the  secondary  fortresses  on 
the  Spanish  border.  Thus,  instead  of  recovering  a  revolted  king- 
dom, Philip  could  not  completely  defend  his  own. 

Though  Joam  thus  tranquilly  ascended,  and  without  diffi- 
culty maintained  himself  on,  the  throne,  it  was  not  to  be  expected 
that  everyone  would  approve  the  revolution,  or  that  Spain  had 
no  partisans.  Not  a  few  of  the  nobility  beheld  with  envy  this 
elevation  of  a  house  which,  except  its  original  base  derivation 
from  royalty,  and,  subsequently,  a  matrimonial  connection  with 
it,  had  no  one  claim  to  the  distinction.  Others  regretted  the  dis- 
solution of  the  union  with  the  sister  kingdom :  they  saw  that 
nature — they  knew  tliat  interest — demanded  the  subjection  of  the 
whole  Peninsula  to  the  same  scepter.  An  equal,  perhaps  superior, 
number  were  gained  by  the  gold  of  Castile.  In  the  first  year  of 
this  monarch's  reign  a  conspiracy  was  organized,  by  the  restless 
archbishop  of  Braga,  for  restoring  the  crown  to  Philip.  But  the 
correspondence  with  the  court  of  Madrid  was  detected;  the  lay 
conspirators  were  arrested,  condemned,  beheaded,  or  quartered ; 
the  primate,  w^ith  two  other  bishops  and  an  inferior  ecclesiastic, 
were  sentenced  to  perpetual  imprisonment.  The  archbishop  died 
a  few  months  afterwards;  whether  naturally  may  be  reason- 
ably doubted. 

While  these  affairs  were  passing  in  Portugal,  hostilities  were 
frequent  in  America,  Africa,  and  the  East.  Though  liolland 
furnished  Joam  with  a  body  of  troops  to  resist  the  invasion  of 
the  Spaniards,  they  were  by  no  means  disposed  to  forego  the 
advantages  which  they  were  acquiring  in  other  parts — least  of 
all  in  Brazil.  Under  the  pretext  that  they  had  commenced 
hostilities  originally,  not  against  the  Portuguese,  but  against 
Philip,   and   that,  after  preparations  so  expensive  they  could  not 


464.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1642-1656 

afford  to  lay  down  their  arms,  they  resolved  to  pursue  their  am- 
bitious designs  in  the  New  World.  On  the  accession  of  Joam, 
as  before  observed,  they  were  in  possession  of  one-half  of 
Brazil.  But  the  inhabitants  of  Pernambuco,  of  whom  the  most 
considerable,  in  point  of  influence,  were  of  Portuguese  extraction, 
were  easily  induced  to  rise  against  the  heretical  strangers.  In 
the  first  two  actions  the  Dutch  were  defeated;  immediately  after- 
%vards  a  number  were  surprised  in  a  fort  and,  with  their  general, 
compelled  to  surrender.  These  successes  were  followed  by  the 
recovery  of  several  minor  fortresses.  They  reduced  fort  after 
fort  and  gained  battle  after  battle,  until,  in  1654,  they  expelled 
th^  enemy  from  the  last  possession  which  the  republic  held  in  those 
vast  regions. 

Commensurate  with  these  hostilities  were  others  on  the 
western  coast  of  Africa,  especially  in  Angola,  and  in  the  island  of 
St.  Thomas,  where  the  Dutch,  by  force  or  stratagem,  obtained 
settlements.  By  superior  intelligence  and  by  indefatigable  in- 
dustry these  enterprising  strangers  soon  engrossed  the  trade  of 
the  country  and  extended  their  territory  so  as  to  alarm  both  the 
local  governors  and  the  court  of  Lisbon.  An  armament  was 
equipped  from  Rio  Janeiro,  and  both  the  island  and  the  fortresses 
in  Angola  were  recovered. 

But  if  the  arms  of  Joam  were  thus  successful  in  Brazil  and 
Africa,  in  India  they  met  with  many  reverses.  In  several  en- 
gagements the  Dutch  had  the  advantage,  and  in  1655  they  suc- 
ceeded in  wholly  expelling  the  Portuguese  from  the  island  of 
Ceylon. 

Joam  died  in  1656.  His  eldest  son.  Prince  Theodosio, — of 
whose  rising  talents  he  had  shown  a  mean  jealousy,  whose  enter- 
prises he  had  thwarted,  and  whom  he  would  not  allow  to  interfere 
in  public  affairs, — preceded  him  to  the  tomb.  Three  other 
children  survived  him: — i.  Catherine,  married  to  Charles  II. 
king  of  England ;  2.  the  infante  Alfonso,  who.  by  the  death  of 
Theodosio,  was  heir  to  the  monarchy;  3.  the  infante  Pedro,  who, 
as  we  shall  soon  perceive,  succeeded  Alfonso. 

On  the  death  of  Joam  the  new  king  Alfonso  VI.  was  only 
in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  as  from  the  earliest  infancy  he  had 
exhibited  no  proofs  of  understanding,  but  a  waywardness 
which  would  have  adorned  a  savage,  the  queen-mother  was 
intrusted  with  the  regency,   not  only  until  he  should    attain    his 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  465 

1656-1667 

majority,  but  until  the  states  of  the  kingdom  should  pronounce 
him  competent  to  govern.  The  ceremony,  however,  of  his 
coronation  was  performed  with  due  splendor. 

The  administration  of  this  princess — a  lady  of  the  house  of 
Guzman,  her  father  being  the  eighth  duke  of  Medina-Sidonia — 
was  distinguished  for  prudence  and  spirit.  As  a  Castilian,  she 
was  at  first  obnoxious  to  the  people,  who  suspected  that  she  must 
have  a  leaning  towards  her  own  country;  but  the  vigor  with  which 
she  prepared  for  war,  and  the  perseverance  with  which  she  con- 
ducted it,  prove  that  the  suspicion  was  injurious.  The  whole 
campaign  was  disgraced  by  the  most  deplorable  imbecility  on  the 
part  both  of  the  Portuguese  and  the  Spanish  leaders,  until  the 
Count  de  Schomberg  and  Don  Juan  of  Austria  were  opposed  to 
each  other.  One  day  the  Portuguese  generals  erred  through  rash- 
ness, another  through  excess  of  prudence,  or  downright  coward- 
ice; now  an  attempt  was  made  on  the  almost  impregnable  bul- 
warks of  Badajoz,  now  the  Portuguese  had  not  spirit  to  invest  a 
fortress  with  moldering  walls  and  garrisoned  by  sixty  men.  In 
all  these  hostile  transactions  nothing  is  more  evident  than  that 
they  were  entire  strangers  to  the  art  of  war — that  they  had  neither 
discipline  nor  science.  Had  not  the  Spaniards  been  nearly  as  bad, 
Alemtejo  at  least,  if  not  Tras  os  Alontes,  must  soon  have  ac- 
knowledged the  Catholic  king.  In  1659  they  were  defeated  be- 
fore Elvas,  which  they  had  long  and  vainly  besieged ;  but  their 
mortification  was  somewhat  diminished  by  the  reduction  of 
Aloncao,  in  the  province  Entre  Douro  e  Minho.  After  the  peace 
of  the  Pyrenees,  between  France  and  Spain,  when  Catalonia  was 
pacified  and  the  Spanisli  troops  were  at  liberty  to  turn  their  un- 
divided force  against  Portugal,  no  doubt  was  entertained  that  this 
country  would  be  subdued.  But  the  queen  regent  did  not  neglect 
to  strengthen  the  national  cause  by  alliances.  Some  French, 
Dutch,  and  English  adventurers  under  Schomberg  were  obtained ; 
the  infanta  Catherina,  with  the  fortress  of  Tangier  and  a  large 
sum  of  money,  was  given  to  Charles  II.  as  the  condition  of  his 
alliance,  and  for  the  aid  of  some  English  regiments.  These 
auxiliary  forces,  fortunately  for  themselves,  were  placed  under 
the  gallant  Schoml)erg:  had  they  been  confided  to  a  Portuguese, 
they  would  speedily  have  disappeared  in  detail,  without  the  ac- 
([uisition  of  a  single  hamlet.  But  he  sustained  so  nnich  opposition, 
so  much  jealousy  and  ill-will  from  the  chiefs  associated  with  him 


466  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1656-1667 

that  he  could  not  prevent  Don  Juan  from  obtaining  some  rapid 
successes.  Among  them  was  the  conquest  of  Evora.  But  this 
advantage  was  soon  neutralized  by  a  signal  victory  attained  over 
the  Castilians;  it  was  still  further  improved  by  the  recovery  of 
Evora : — both  monuments  of  Schomberg's  ability  and  of  English 
valor.  To  repair  these  disasters  Don  Juan  collected  a  superior 
force  and  advanced  to  the  frontiers,  but  he  effected  nothing.  In 
fact,  he  seems  to  have  been  as  much  embarrassed  by  his  imbecile 
coadjutors  as  Schomberg  himself:  he  complained,  and  was  de- 
prived of  the  command,  which  was  bestowed  on  the  Marquis  de 
Caracene.  This  change  was  fortunate  for  Portugal,  for  the  new 
general  was  so  signally  defeated  at  Villaviciosa  that  it  may  be 
said  to  have  secured  the  independence  of  that  kingdom.  This  was 
the  last  noted  exploit  during  the  reign  of  Alfonso. 

During  these  hostilities  the  court  of  Lisbon  exhibited  strange 
scenes.  The  depraved  tastes,  the  low  and  profligate  habits,  the 
headstrong  perversity  of  the  king,  daily  acquired  strength,  and 
afforded  a  melancholy  prospect  to  the  nation.  He  associated  with 
the  lowest  of  the  people;  he  introduced  them  into  his  palace,  or 
accompanied  them  in  nocturnal  expeditions,  undertaken  as  much 
for  bloodshed  as  for  mere  mischief.  His  band  of  young  com- 
panions became  the  terror  of  the  capital.  Once  the  council  of 
state,  headed  by  the  Due  de  Cadaval,  summoned  courage  enough 
to  expostulate  with  him  on  the  danger  to  which  he  exposed  his 
person  and  kingdom ;  besought  him  to  forsake  his  savage  amuse- 
ments, in  which  blood  was  sure  to  flow,  sometimes  to  the  loss  of 
life,  and  represented  to  him,  with  force  and  pathos,  the  effects 
of  so  extraordinary  an  example.  He  listened  with  a  careless  air 
and  refused  to  promise  anything.  The  influence  of  the  queen  was 
no  less  ineffectual.  At  length  the  indignant  nobles,  at  her  insti- 
gation, forcibly  seized  two  brothers,  the  vilest  and  most  dangerous 
of  his  satellites,  and  sent  them  away  to  Brazil ;  but  other  creatures 
were  found  to  supply  their  place.  The  latter  were  even  more 
dangerous  than  their  predecessors.  They  persuaded  him  that  his 
mother  wished  to  keep  him,  throughout  life,  in  a  state  of  pupilage, 
and  that  she  was  laboring  to  place  the  crown  on  the  head  of  his 
younger  brother,  the  infante  Pedro.  Hence  the  jealousy — we 
might  add,  the  hatred — with  which  he  regarded  both:  if  he  durst 
not  exhibit  it  towards  the  former,  he  could,  at  least,  heap  every 
species  of  insult  and  caprice  on  the  latter.     With  all  his  stupidity. 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  467 

1656-1667 

the  royal  brute  felt  that  he  was  a  king;  he  knew  that  the  time  of 
his  majority  was  long  past ;  he  insisted  on  being  invested  with  the 
regal  authority  in  all  its  extent ;  and  after  a  struggle  between  him 
and  his  mother  he  forced  her,  in  June,  1662,  to  resign  the  regency. 
The  removal  of  so  salutary  a  rein  on  his  excesses  could  not  fail 
to  make  things  worse.  It  was  hoped  that,  if  a  wife  were  pro- 
cured him,  he  would  at  least  refrain  from  some  excesses,  and  one 
was  found  in  Mademoiselle  d'Aurnale,  daughter  of  the  Due  de 
Nemours.  But  he  treated  his  beautiful  queen  with  open  neglect; 
he  disregarded  alike  her  entreaties,  her  tears,  and  her  remon- 
strances; nor  did  the  death  of  his  mother  make  the  slightest 
change  in  his  conduct. 

But  the  strangest  part  of  these  transactions  remains  to  be 
told.  That  the  queen-mother  had  resigned  her  authority  with 
reluctance  is  certain ;  that  she  had  entertained  thoughts  of  pro- 
curing the  transfer  of  the  scepter  from  Alfonso  to  Pedro  is  con- 
firmed by  the  general  tenor  of  her  actions.  It  is  no  less  true  that 
Pedro  aspired  to  supplant  his  brother;  that  he  intrigued  with  the 
nobles  and  prelates  for  that  end ;  and  that,  by  the  outward  de- 
corum of  his  conduct,  by  a  scrupulous  regard  to  the  decencies  of 
his  station,  he  labored  to  make  the  contrast  between  himself  and 
the  king  too  marked  to  be  overlooked.  Equally  certain  it  is  that 
no  one  observed  this  contrast  more  narrowly  than  the  youthful 
■queen,  who  soon  formed  a  suspicious  connection  with  the  infante. 
That  their  plans  for  the  future  were  soon  arranged  is  evident 
enough  from  the  sequel.  When  Pedro's  plans  were  matured, 
when  he  had  interested  a  considerable  party  in  his  behalf,  he 
sought  an  o]:)en  rupture — and  he  had  causes  enougli — with  the 
king.  In  October,  1667,  a  furious  mob,  which  had  been  gained 
by  his  emissaries,  conducted  him  to  the  palace,  insisting  that 
justice  should  be  done  him  on  his  enemies.  The  paltry  spirit 
which  Alfonso  displayed  on  this  occasion  completed  his  degrada- 
tion in  the  eyes  of  the  populace,  who  began  loudly  to  exclaim  that 
the  country  must  have  a  new  king.  To  the  same  intrigues  was 
owing  a  resolution  for  assembling  the  states,  ostensibly  for  the 
correction  of  internal  abuses,  in  reality  to  change  the  government. 
But  before  the  day  of  convocation  arrived  the  revolution  had 
been  effected.  On  November  21  tlie  queen  hastily  left  the 
palace  and  retired  to  tlie  convent  of  St.  Francis.  Her  pretext 
was  the  ill-usage  she  hourly  received  from  Alfonso — usage  which 


468  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1667-1668 

was,  doubtless,  undeserved,  but  which  she  artfully  exaggerated. 
The  true  reason  for  so  extraordinary  a  step  appeared  in  a  letter 
which  she  immediately  wrote  to  the  king,  and  in  which,  after  ad- 
verting to  her  domestic  sorrows,  she  surprised  the  public  by 
saying  that  her  marriage  was,  from  its  origin,  null,  that  it  had 
never  been  consummated,  that  she  was,  consequently,  mistress  of 
her  own  actions,  and  that  she  would  return  to  France  without 
delay. 

The  perusal  of  this  extraordinary  letter  filled  Alfonso  with 
indignant  wonder.  He  hastened  to  the  convent,  and,  on  being  re- 
fused admission,  he  ordered  the  gates  to  be  broken ;  but  his  brother, 
arriving  with  an  escort,  persuaded  or  compelled  him  to  depart. 
The  infante  then  held  an  interview  with  the  rebellious  queen, 
and  completed  his  plans.  Early  next  day  one  of  his  crea- 
tures, with  a  select  body  of  men,  proceeded  to  the  palace  and 
forced  his  way  into  the  royal  bed-chamber,  upbraided  the  be- 
wildered monarch  and  advised  him  to  make  a  virtue  of  necessity, 
— to  resign  the  crown  in  favor  of  his  brother.  The  counselors 
of  state,  who  had  all  been  gained,  and  who  in  their  turn  had 
gained  the  authorities  and  people  of  Lisbon,  renewed  the  menace 
and  forced  the  king  to  sign  an  act  of  renunciation.  He  was 
then  arrested  and  sentenced  to  perpetual  confinement,  but  with 
permission  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  life.  In  conclusion,  Pedro 
was  proclaimed  regent,  and  in  that  character  was  recognized  by 
an  assembly  of  the  states.  By  his  creatures  the  same  states  were 
persuaded  to  petition  the  queen,  who  no  longer  showed  any  in- 
clination to  leave  the  kingdom,  that  she  would  accept  the  hand  of 
so  deserving  a  prince.  She  required  no  solicitation:  she  had  al- 
ready dispatched  a  confidential  messenger  to  her  uncle,  the  Cardi- 
nal Vendome,  the  papal  legate,  for  a  brief  authorizing  a  second 
marriage,  and  the  cardinal,  anxious  that  his  family  should  contain 
a  queen,  expedited  it  without  delay.  Subsequently,  an  application 
was  made  to  the  pope,  to  confirm  the  dispensation  of  the  cardinal; 
and  Clement,  who  saw  that  the  mischief  was  done  in  the  consum- 
mation of  the  marriage,  admitted  the  allegation  of  impotence  and 
dispatched  the  brief  of  confirmation. 

Thus  concluded  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  scenes  that 
has  ever  been  exhibited  to  the  eyes  of  mankind, — extraordinary 
alike  for  effrontery  and  duplicity.  However  the  constitution  of 
Alfonso  might  have  been  impaired  by  debauchery,    he    was    not 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  469 

1668-1683 

impotent.  The  whole  proceeding'  is  explicable  enough.  The 
queen  felt  that  she  was  neglected;  she  admired  the  infante,  and 
was  gained  by  him  as  an  accessory  to  the  long-meditated  plot  of 
dethroning  the  king:  she  had  little  repugnance  to  a  scheme  which 
would  at  once  secure  the  continuance  of  her  dignity  and  furnish 
her  with  a  more  welcome  husband, — which  would  gratify  her  am- 
bition and  her  passion.  The  same  motives — the  acquisition  of  a 
throne  and  a  beautiful  wife — would  have  no  less  influence  with 
the  infante.  This  hypothesis  explains  the  obstinacy  with  which 
Pedro,  some  months  prior  to  the  revolution,  refused  another 
princess  of  France,  whom  the  ambassador  of  Portugal  had  se- 
lected for  him,  and  whom  both  Alfonso  and  the  royal  council  had 
urged  him  to  marry.  The  means  adopted  by  tl-uese  paramours 
were  even  more  daring,  more  indicative  of  the  contempt  with 
which  they  regarded  public  opinion,  than  the  end  itself.  ^ 

Before  this  iniquitous  consummation  of  ambition  and  lust, 
Pedro  had  the  glory  of  ending  the  long  dispute  with  Spain.  Both 
nations  were  exhausted  by  their  past  exertions,  and  both  naturally 
inclined  for  peace.  It  was  concluded  at  Lisbon,  under  the  media- 
tion of  Charles  II.,  king  of  England.  By  it  all  conquests  made 
by  either  party  were  restored,  and  the  subjects  of  each  nation 
admitted  to  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  people. 
The  arms  of  Portugal  were  immediately  erased  from  the  es- 
cutcheon of  the  Spanish  monarchy.  This  was  almost  the  only 
transaction  of  moment  in  which  the  regent  was  engaged,  from 
his  marriage  to  the  death  of  Alfonso.  There  was,  indeed,  a  con- 
spiracy formed  to  restore  that  prince,  but  it  was  easily  detected 
and  its  authors  punished.  That  unfortunate  monarch  was  first 
removed  to  the  Azores,  and  when,  from  the  continuance  of  peace, 
both  external  and  internal,  no  fear  could  be  entertained  of  a  com- 
motion, he  was  transferred  to  the  palace  of  Cintra,  where  in 
1683  he  ended  his  days.  The  same  year  was  fatal  to  the  queen, 
who  left  no  other  issue  than  a  daughter,  the  infanta  Isabella. 

On  the  death  of  Alfonso,  the  coronation  of  the  new  king 
Pedro  II.  was  celebrated  with  the  usual  pomp  and  circumstance. 

2  The  slavish  liistorians  of  Portugal — the  most  slavish  and  the  least  dis- 
cerning in  the  whole  range  of  historic  literature — carefully  refrain  from  doubting 
the  impotency  of  Alfonso;  and  praise,  in  high  terms,  the  prudence,  virtue,  and 
patriotism  of  the  two  princes.  As  in  Portugal  a  king  may  be  most  pious  with 
lialf  a  dozen  bastards,  or  if  stained  with  half  a  dozen  murders,  we  need  make  no 
further  reflections  on  the  subject. 


470  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1683-1706 

His  reign,  like  his  regency,  was  passed  in  profound  peace, 
and,  consequently,  furnishes  no  materials  for  history,  until 
the  celebrated  war  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  following  the  demise 
of  Carlos  II.,  called  him  into  the  field.  The  motives  which  in- 
duced him  to  take  part  with  the  allies  against  Philip  V.  have  been 
already  explained,  and  the  chief  events  of  the  war  related.  In  the 
midst  of  these  hostilities,  1706,  Pedro  breathed  his  last. 

During  the  reigns  of  Alfonso  and  Pedro  the  affairs  of  India 
continually  declined.  The  Dutch,  the  most  persevering  enemies 
that  ever  assailed  the  Portuguese  empire  in  the  East,  not  satisfied 
with  the  richest  settlements  in  Malacca  and  in  the  India  islands, 
prepared  to  expel  the  subjects  of  his  most  faithful  majesty  from 
the  continent.  In  1659  the  Dutch  laid  siege  to  Cochin,  and 
though  the  season,  rather  than  the  courage  of  the  defenders,  com- 
pelled them  to  raise  it,  their  arms  were  generally  triumphant, 
while  on  those  of  the  Portuguese  success  seldom  shone.  In  1660 
they  blockaded  the  bar  of  Goa,  thereby  preventing  the  annual 
sailing  of  merchandise  for  Lisbon.  In  the  following  year  they 
took  the  fortress  of  Coulam,  and  invested  Bracalor,  while  their 
Mohammedan  allies  pillaged  Bazain.  Bombay  was  delivered  to 
the  English.  In  1665  Diu  was  plundered  by  the  ]\Iohammedans, 
3,000  of  the  inhabitants  being  led  into  hopeless  captivity,  the  rest 
put  to  the  sword.  Finally,  Cochin  was  reduced  by  the  king  of 
Travancore,  and  the  Portuguese  empire  in  India  was  confined  to 
Goa,  Diu,  and  a  few  commercial  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Mala- 
bar and  in  the  islands.  The  African  and  Brazilian  possessions 
continued  unimpaired. 

By  his  second  queen,  a  princess  of  Bavaria,  Pedro  had  several 
children,  most  of  whom  died  either  in  infancy  or  without  issue. 
He  Vv^as  succeeded  by  the  infante  Joam,  born  in  1688. 

If  we  except  the  war  of  the  Succession,  into  which  the  new  king 
entered  with  as  much  zeal  as  his  predecessor,  and  the  chief  events 
of  which  have  been  already  related,  there  is  nothing  in  Joam  V.'s 
reign  (1706-1750)  to  interest  the  general  reader.  The  history 
of  Portugal  from  the  peace  of  Utrecht  to  the  French  Revolution  is 
singularly  barren  of  events.  Since  the  country  was  engaged  in  no 
foreign  wars,  and  exhibits  nothing  novel  in  its  internal  govern- 
ment, the  historian  has  little  more  to  do  than  to  record  tlie  ac- 
cession and  death  of  Joam.  Once,  indeed,  a  serious  misunder- 
standing embroiled  the  court  with  that  of  Castile    and  threatened 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  471 

1706-1755 

hostilities.  In  this  condition,  unable  to  cope  alone  with  her  for- 
midable rival,  Portugal  renewed  her  alliances  with  the  other 
European  powers,  and  called  on  the  assistance  of  England,  which 
was  readily  afforded;  but  the  address  of  the  Portuguese  ambassa- 
dor at  Paris  turned  aside  the  gathering  storm.  During  the  tran- 
quillity of  a  long  reign  Joam  cultivated  with  zeal  and  success  the 
good-will  of  foreign  courts  and  afforded  increased  prosperity  to 
commerce.  From  his  foundation  of  the  royal  academy  of  history, 
and  from  the  reforms  which  he  introduced  into  the  system  of  col- 
legiate education,  we  may  also  infer  his  attachment  to  letters.  In 
the  first  years  of  its  existence  this  academy  displayed  an  honorable 
activity;  but  the  benefits  which  it  has  since  bestowed  on  literature 
have  been  "  few  and  far  between."  Joam  was  no  less  attached  to 
religion :  he  founded  the  magnificent  church  and  convent  of 
Mafra  and  procured  from  the  pope  a  golden  bull,  by  which 
Lisbon  was  created  a  patriarchal  see.  Another  honorable  proof 
alike  of  his  superiority  to  a  miserable  superstition,  and  of  his  at- 
tachment to  justice,  is  to  be  found  in  the  gratifying  fact  that  he 
allowed  advocates  to  the  prisoners  of  the  inquisition.  If  to  this 
we  add  that  he  gave  new  vigor  to  the  civil  tribunals,  we  shall  have 
exhausted  the  few  materials  of  his  policy  furnished  us  by  the 
national  historians.  His  reign  was  prosperous  and  happy,  even 
when  allowance  is  made  for  a  famine,  which,  in  1734,  afflicted  the 
central  provinces,  and  for  an  earthquake,  which  did  much  damage 
in  Algarve.  The  last  eight  years  of  his  life  Joam  was  the  victim 
of  disease,  which  he  is  said  to  have  borne  with  becoming  fortitude. 
He  died  in  July,  1750.  His  character  is  drawn  in  the  brightest 
colors  by  the  bombastic  writers  of  his  nation :  he  is  represented  as 
the  most  pious  of  sovereigns — how  such  piety,  such  virtues,  may 
consort  with  the  grossest  immorality — for  this  "  adorable  king  " 
left  three  illegitimate  children,  of  whom  one  became  inquisitor- 
general,  another  arclibisliop  of  Braga, — we  leave  for  Portuguese 
causists  to  decide.  By  his  queen,  Mariana  of  Austria,  Joam  had  a 
numerous  issue:  tlirce  cliildrcn  only  survived  him^^Maria,  queen  of 
Spain,  his  successor,  Jose,  and  the  infante  Dom  Pedro. 

The  most  remarkable  event  in  the  reign  of  Jose,  or  Joseph, 
is  the  cclcljrated  earthquake,  which,  in  November.  1755,  laid  so 
great  a  pcjrtion  of  Lisbon  in  ruins.  That  fearful  disaster  has 
been  often  and  minutely  described.  Its  severity  was  aggravated 
by  a  conllagration, — the  work  possibly  of  some  incendiaries  who 


472  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1755-1760 

wished  to  profit  still  further  by  the  general  confusion, — which  raged 
with  terrific  violence,  and  thirty  churches  and  many  thousands  of 
houses  were  ruined,  while  the  loss  of  life  cannot  be  estimated,  even 
by  the  most  moderate  calculation,  below  twenty  thousand  persons. 
In  this  awful  visitation  the  royal  family  were  fortunate  enough  to 
escape,  but  the  Spanish  ambassador,  with  many  other  persons  of 
distinction,  both  foreign  and  native,  was  buried  amidst  the  ruins. 

Scarcely  had  the  alarm  caused  by  this  fatal  visitation  of 
Heaven  subsided  when  the  kingdom  was  agitated  by  a  conspiracy 
against  the  life  of  the  monarch.  By  whose  instigation,  or  with 
what  view  it  was  formed,  it  would  be  vain  to  inquire;  the  whole 
afifair  has  been  wrapped  in  dark,  probably,  in  studied,  mystery. 
One  party  threw  the  blame  on  certain  ecclesiastics  who  were  in- 
censed at  the  reform  instituted  by  Dom  Jose;  another,  on  the 
creatures  of  Spain,  who  were  eager  to  reunite  the  two  countries 
under  the  same  scepter;  a  third,  on  the  Jesuits,  who  are  rep- 
resented as  indignant  at  the  restriction  o-f  their  ancient  privileges; 
others  agreed  to  throw  it  on  a  prince  of  the  family.  It  is  certain 
that  the  Duke  of  Aveiro,  the  Conde  de  Atougia,  with  three  nobles 
and  one  lady  of  the  house  of  Tavora,  were  executed  on  a  public 
scaffold.  It  is  no  less  true  that  the  Jesuits  were  implicated  in  the 
treason, — on  what  foundation  we  are  not  informed;  that  soon 
afterwards  their  possessions  were  seized  and  their  expulsion  de- 
creed by  the  crown ;  in  fact,  every  possible  calamity,  even  the 
earthquake,  was  ascribed  to  the  poor  fathers  of  Jesus.  This,  and 
some  other  causes,  led  to  frequent  and  acrimonious  disputes  with 
the  populace :  on  one  occasion  all  the  servants  of  the  pope  were 
expelled  from  Portugal;  all  Portuguese  in  the  states  of  the  church 
were  recalled,  and  all  intercourse  between  the  two  courts  re- 
ligiously prohibited  for  some  years. 

Jose,  or  Joseph,  had  soon  need  of  assistance  from  an  ally 
whom  he  had  neglected.  To  an  authoritative  mandate  that  he 
would  take  part  with  the  courts  of  France  and  Spain  against 
England,  he  returned  a  refusal,  both  because  he  had  no  wish  to 
engage  his  subjects  in  a  war  alien  to  their  interests  and  because 
he  had  too  much  pride  to  submit  to  dictation.  Had  he,  indeed, 
as  was  demanded  by  the  Bourbon  kings,  consented  to  receive  a 
Spanish  garrison  into  his  principal  fortresses, — a  demand  made 
under  the  pretense  that  they  would  thereby  be  more  effectually 
defended  ngainst  the  probable  attempts  of  the  English, — his  king- 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA  473 

1760-1763 

dom  would  have  again  become  a  province  of  the  CathoHc 
monarchy.  It  was  ahke  his  duty  and  his  interest  to  observe  a 
strict  neutrahty,  and  when  he  asserted  his  resolution  to  that  effect, 
war  was  declared  against  him  by  Carlos,  and  Spanish  troops  were 
removed  towards  the  frontier.  In  this  emergency  he  naturally 
solicited  the  aid  of  England,  and  was  immediately  furnished  with 
troops,  arms,  ammunition,  and  money.  In  the  opening  of  the 
campaign  success  attended  the  arms  of  the  invaders :  they  took 
Miranda,  Braganza,  and  Almeida.  Here  their  triumphs  ceased. 
As  the  Portuguese  had  not  one  good  general,  the  Count  de  Lippe, 
at  the  instance  of  the  English  government,  arrived  from  Germany 
and  assumed  the  command.  In  his  operations  he  was  well  assisted 
by  General  Burgoyne,  and  they  had  soon  the  glory  of  freeing  the 
Portuguese  soil  from  the  Bourbon  army.  As  before  related  in  the 
reign  of  Carlos  III.,  tlie  two  courts,  hopeless  of  success  and 
afraid  of  greater  disasters,  solicited  and  obtained  peace.  Through- 
out this  campaign  Jose  had  reason  to  lament  the  deplorable  state 
of  his  troops :  they  had  neither  organization  nor  discipline.  When 
assembled  they  had  no  confidence  in  themselves,  and  were  conse- 
quently ready  enough  to  flee  or  to  surrender.  On  the  conclusion 
of  hostilities  he  retained  the  Count  de  Lippe,  with  some  British 
officers,  to  reform  his  army;  nor  were  their  exertions  in  vain. 

The  remainder  of  his  reign,  which  was  notable  for  the  able 
administration  of  the  ]\Iarquis  of  Pombal,  was  employed  by  this 
king  in  promoting  the  industry  and  improving  the  condition  of  his 
people.  What,  in  such  a  country,  we  should  still  less  have  ex- 
pected, he  founded  schools  in  the  great  towns  and  improved  the 
system  of  study  in  all  the  faculties  taught  in  the  university  of 
Coimbra:  Aristotle  was  forsaken  for  Bacon,  scholastic  subtleties 
for  sound  ratiocination.  A  much  nobler  monument  of  his  was 
a  decree  by  which  the  grandsons  of  slaves,  and  all  who  should  be 
born  after  the  same  date,  were  declared  free :  though  the  benefit 
was  restricted  to  Portugal  alone,  it  was  an  amazing  stride  in  the 
career  of  improvement.  Xor  were  these  the  only  advantages  he 
procured  for  his  people,  whose  gratitude  he  won  by  other  means, 
less  striking,  indeed,  but  not  less  valuable.  It  is  some  gratification 
to  add  that  his  reforms  were  fully  appreciated  by  them,  and  that 
towards  the  close  of  his  life  they  erected  a  bronze  statue  in  his 
honor.  In  short,  he  was  the  best  monarch  Portugal  could  boast 
since  the  days  of  Philip  I. 


474.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1777-1790 

Pombal,  the  famous  statesman  who  in  1756  was  made  pre- 
mier and  exercised  such  great  influence  over  the  sovereign,  King 
Jose,  deserves  the  greatest  credit  for  the  encouragement  of  com- 
merce and  agriculture.  He  also  displayed  unusual  vigor  in  politi- 
cal reforms,  amounting  to  unjustifiable  harshness  in  the  minds 
of  many  of  his  contemporaries.  Under  him  the  powers  of  the 
inquisition  were  curtailed  and  the  finances  of  the  kingdom 
strengthened.  Shortly  after  arriving  at  the  state  of  first  minister 
in  the  kingdom  he  caused  the  banishment  from  Portugal  of  all 
the  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  then  under  taint  of  connec- 
tion with  an  attempt  in  1758  to  assassinate  the  king.  Until  the 
king's  death,  which  occurred  naturally  in  1777,  the  power  of  this 
minister  was  nearly  supreme.  But  his  favor  at  court,  and  still 
more  his  determined  measures  for  retrenchment  and  economy  in 
the  distribution  of  the  national  revenues,  made  bitter  enemies,  and 
these  were  prompt  to  act  when  a  new  sovereign  came  to  the  throne. 

By  Jose's  marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Philip  V.,  king  of 
Spain,  four  daughters  had  been  born  to  the  monarch.  This  circum- 
stance was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  mischiefs  resulting  from  the 
ancient  law,  which  declared  that  if  any  princess  accepted  a  foreign 
husband  she  forfeited  all  right  to  the  throne.  In  the  hope  of  suc- 
cession, he  was,  therefore,  compelled  to  provide  his  eldest  daughter 
Maria  with  a  husband  at  home;  and  as  a  connection  with  the 
nobility  would  have  been  below  his  royal  dignity,  and  odious  to 
such  houses  as  were  excluded,  he  married  her  to  his  own  brother, 
the  infante  Dom  Pedro.  Such  connections  are,  unfortunately, 
far  from  rare  in  the  modern  history  of  Portugal.  On  the  death 
of  Jose  some  intrigues  were  used  to  exclude  Maria's  succession, 
but  they  were  detected,  and  the  chief  actors  exiled  from  court. 

Maria  was  the  first  female  sovereign  the  country  possessed. 
When  this  princess  ascended  the  throne  in  1777  she  was  in  her 
forty-third  year.  Her  reign  extended  to  the  threshold  of  the 
nineteenth  century  and  is  the  opening  of  a  new  era ;  of  a  new 
system  of  policy ;  of  new  and  unexampled  relations — in  short,  of 
the  French  Revolution.  The  changes  produced  in  the  kingdom 
were  astounding,  and  included  the  humiliation  of  subjection  by  the 
republicans  and  the  expulsion  of  the  royal  family,  though  the  latter 
triumphantly  returned  after  a  war  forever  memorable  in  the  annals 
of  mankind. 

One  of  the  first  to  feel  the  effects  of  a  change  of  rulers  was 


HOUSE     OF     BRAGANZA 


475 


1790-1799 

the  minister  Pombal,  whose  good  offices  to  the  king-dom  were  for- 
gotten in  indignation  at  his  severity.  Pombal  was  dismissed  and 
eight  hundred  prisoners  were  Hbe rated  from  dungeons  to  which, 
without  trial,  he  had  condemned  them,  and  it  was  said  that  this 
number  was  small  in  proportion  to  the  thousands  who  had  been 


u 
o 


< 


Independent  Portugal 

UNDER    THE  HOUSE  OF  BRAGANZA 

1    6    4    O  — 


strait  of  Gibraltar 


unjustly  imprisoned,  in  accordance  with  his  zeal  for  the  political 
safety  of  the  kingdom,  and  had  not  lived  to  regain  their  freedom. 
Pombal  was  banished  from  court  and  retired  to  his  own  estates. 
Before  his  death,  in  1782,  almost  every  improvement  or  reform  he 
had  accomplished  had  been  nullified  by  the  new  influences  at  court. 
If  the  abilities  of  this  cpieen  were  of  no  high  order,  she  was 
actuated  by  good  intentions;  and  her  administration,  though  feeble, 
was  mainly  beneficial.  If  her  foreign  policy  was  imprudent;  if 
she  was  forced  into  the  h\amily  Compact  by  her  powerful  neigh- 


476  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1790-1799 

bors  of  Spain  and  France;  if,  through  her  aunt,  the  queen-dow- 
ager, a  treaty  of  Hmits  was  negotiated  with  the  former  power 
prejudicial  to  her  interests,  in  her  internal  administration  she  is 
entitled  to  respect.  She  imitated,  with  success,  the  example  of 
her  father,  in  giving  a  new  impulse  to  arts,  manufactures,  and 
commerce,  to  the  administration  of  justice,  and  to  the  reformation 
of  the  religious  orders.  She  founded  the  academy  of  sciences, 
and  cleared  the  cloisters  of  Coimbra  from  most  of  the  cobwebs 
which  the  late  king  had  suffered  to  remain.  A  far  greater  boon 
was  the  introduction  into  the  convents  of  the  friars  of  a  compul- 
sory course  of  education,  embracing  useful  literature,  philosophy, 
and  the  sciences.  The  foundation  of  several  charitable  institutions 
— one,  in  particular,  for  the  education  and  support  of  orphans,  or 
of  children  whose  parents  were  too  poor  to  maintain  them — does 
honor  to  her  memory.  She  introduced  some  salutary  laws,  and 
among  them  it  is  interesting  to  note  one  for  the  abolition  of  im- 
prisonment for  debt.^ 

After  thirteen  years'  reign  the  queen,  whose  mind  had  never 
been  strong,  began  to  exhibit  manifest  proof  of  incapacity.  From 
that  time  on,  Dom  Pedro  III.  having  died  in  1786,  the  eldest  sur- 
viving son,  Dom  Joam,  afterwards  Joam  VI.,  was  intrusted  with 
the  government.  But  for  some  years  it  was  conducted  in  the  name 
of  Queen  Maria,  nor  was  the  prince  declared  regent  until  1799. 

3  Murphy,  who  visited  Portugal  in  1789,  asserts  that  the  credit  for  the 
abolishment  of  imprisonment  for  debt  belongs  to  the  Minister  Pombal, 
who  in  1744,  issued  an  ordinance,  which  has  continued  to  be  the  law  of 
Portugal,  respecting  the  debtor's  legal  status. 


PART  VII 

THE  ERA  OF  SPAIN'S  DECLINE 
1788-1910  A.D. 


Chapter    XIX 

EVENTS  OF  THE  CRITICAL  ERA  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE 
FIRST  CARLIST  WAR.     1 788-1 840 

BY  THE  EDITOR 

HISTORICALLY  it  would  seem  that  Spain  has  never  been 
able  to  direct  her  resources  well,  save  for  very  brief  and 
exceptional  periods  in  the  country's  annals.  Halcyon  eras 
she  has  had,  of  course,  with  an  old-time  national  prestige  which 
was  the  glory  of  the  Peninsular  kingdom,  and  gave  to  it  that  his- 
toric and  romantic  interest  which  is  so  delightfully  set  forth  in  the 
pages  of  Prescott,  Motley,  and  Washington  Irving.  But  after 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  the  Catholics,  Charles  V.  and  Philip  II., — 
if  we  except  the  era  of  Charles  III., — there  came  centuries  of  de- 
crepitude, "  with  governments  of  debauchees  and  thieves,  of  super- 
stition made  darker  by  the  spread  of  light  in  the  world  around  it, 
of  boastful  impotence  and  pride  in  rags."  The  torpor  and  feebleness 
into  which  the  realm  has  sunk,  together  with  the  violence  of  its 
lawless  and  illiterate  people,  repeatedly  convulsed  by  dynastic  and 
civil  strife,  have  so  suppressed  or  diverted  the  nation's  old-time 
honorable  energies  that  deterioration  seems  persistently  to  have  set 
in,  with  the  absence  of  all  healthful  civic  life  and  any  longings  for  or 
aptitude  in  self-government.  With  these  deteriorations  has  natur- 
ally come  a  decline  in  national  prestige,  with  the  loss  of  the  nation's 
New  World  colonies,  added  to  the  loss  of  Portugal,  which  by  nature 
belongs  to  her,  and  of  her  former  dominion  in  the  Netherlands. 
Whether  we  shall  see  the  coming  of  a  better  day  for  her,  with  the 
revival  of  her  old-time  power  and  influence,  can  be  matter  merely 
of  a  more  or  less  idle  speculation. 

Within  the  geographical  area  of  the  Peninsula  Spain  still  pos- 
sesses an  extensive  and,  by  nature,  a  highly-favored  dominion;  and 
here  still  is  her  hope,  if  she  will  but  turn  from  political  strifes  and 
domestic  discord  to  the  country's  economic  improvement,  and  to 
some  showing  of  her  (jld-timc  go\crnnieiilal   vigor  and  efiicieiuy. 

479 


3-80  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

Her  commerce  continues,  as  yet,  to  be  of  limited  volume,  and  tax- 
ation is  burdensome,  in  order  to  meet  wasteful  past  expenditures 
and  the  interest  on  her  heavy  debt,  imperfectly  met  as  it  is  by  the 
revenues,  no  little  part  of  which  is  purloined  by  corrupt  officials 
and  never  finds  its  way  to  the  national  exchequer.  The  nation 
which,  in  Arab,  Moor,  and  Jew,  expelled  its  most  industrious,  and 
in  many  respects  its  most  skilled  artisans,  still  lingers  in  the  dark 
shadow  of  bigotry  and  superstition,  and  refuses  to  keep  step  with 
the  march  elsewhere  of  political  freedom  and  material  advancement. 
To  a  people  thus  keeping  out  of  the  great  currents  of  human  life 
and  activity,  and  in  the  main  inhospitable  towards  liberal  ideas,  what 
hope  can  there  be  of  avoiding  political  atrophy  and  the  oncoming 
of  national  decrepitude?  But  Spain's  condition  is  not  yet  that  of 
the  Chinese,  though  political  corruption  is  about  as  rampant  as  it 
is  in  the  Far  East,  and  self-seeking  is  as  greedy  and  unblushing. 
And  yet  there  are  many  liberal-minded,  intelligent,  and  progressive 
people  in  the  kingdom,  though  not  always  among  the  trusted  men 
of  affairs,  for  the  rogues  are  too  many  and  too  exigent,  and  fhe 
offices  are  fully  filled  with  them.  This  was  the  fundamental  cause 
of  the  hatred  to  Spanish  rule  in  her  late  colonies  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  coupled  with  an  extortionate  avarice  and  an  insolent 
haughtiness  towards  subject-races.  In  the  war  with  the  United 
States  she  paid  the  heavy  penalty  for  these  faults,  increasing  her 
financial  straits  and  losing  her  colonial  possessions,  the  ownership 
of  which  connected  her  historically  with  a  proud  period  of  world- 
mastery,  but  which  had  long  been  a  drag  and  a  detriment  to  her, 
both  morally  and  economically. 

Freed  from  them,  and  from  those  she  happily  sold  to  Germany, 
Spain  is  now  in  a  position  to  recover  her  political  and  economic 
health,  and  to  turn  her  attention  to  the  rich  inheritance  she  pos- 
sesses in  the  Peninsula  of  Southern  Europe,  which  admittedly  is 
most  inadequately  and  indifferently  developed.  For  the  ancient 
kingdom  one  epoch  now  has  closed  and  a  new  one  opened.  Though 
sentimentally  the  nation  may  sigh  for  her  old  colonial  domain  and 
recall  with  fond  regret  the  era  of  the  great  maritime  supremacy 
which  gilds  her  annals,  she  will  do  well  to  look  hopefully  on  the 
new  day  that  has  dawned  for  her  and  take  heart  of  grace  for  the 
tasks  that  lie  invitingly  before  her.  In  the  Iberian  peninsula — 
almost  all  that  is  now  left  to  her  of  her  once  mighty  dominion — she 
has,  if  she  will  see  it,  not  only  the  fair  and  ample  home  of  the  race. 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  481 

1788-1792 

but  a  field  of  richest  promise  for  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  her 
sons.  Shorn  of  her  colonies,  she  may  well  now  lay  aside  the 
ambitions  as  well  as  the  entanglements  of  empire  and  turn  to 
the  practical,  if  prosaic,  duty  of  cultivating  the  long-neglected 
native  soil. 

Turning  back  to  the  Spain  of  Charles  III.'s  era,  or  rather  to 
its  close  in  1788,  the  story  presented  by  the  country's  annals 
is  a  checkered  one,  and  in  parts  discreditable  to  the  nation, 
ruled  at  times  as  it  has  been  by  imbecile  monarchs  and  unscrupulous, 
self-seeking  ministerial  favorites  and  interrupted  by  frequent 
and  distracting  periods  of  revolutionary  upheaval.  At  the  outset 
we  have  to  deal  with  a  perturbed  and  harassing  era — the  crit- 
ical one  in  which  Spain  found  herself  disastrously  compromised 
in  her  relations  with  and  in  her  wavering  attitude  towards  Bona- 
parte, the  arch-disturber  of  Europe.  On  the  death  of  Charles  III., 
the  mutterings  of  the  coming  storm  that  was  to  shake  empires  and 
throw  Europe  for  years  into  confusion  were  already  heard  on  the 
hither  side  of  the  Pyrenees.  While  Charles  III.  still  lived,  he  and 
his  capable  minister,  Florida  Blanca,  were  astute  enough  to  keep 
the  country  from  entangling  alliances,  sure  to  bring  trouble  to  a 
Bourbon  throne,  in  a  European  situation  that  boded  ill  to  every 
nation  of  note,  in  view  of  tlie  revolutionary  upheaval  in  France  and 
the  aggrandizing  menace  of  the  coming  "  Man  of  Destiny."  Un- 
fortunately for  Spain,  the  good  king  died  (December  14,  1788), 
and  his  successor,  Charles  IV.,  was  unworthy  to  wield  the  scepter 
of  his  great  father.  With  the  accession  of  the  new  monarch  came 
a  change  in  the  office  of  the  chief  minister,  the  post  being  filled  a 
year  or  two  afterwards  by  a  contemptible  favorite  of  Charles  IV.'s 
queen,  who  brought  dishonor  to  the  court  and  dragged  his  country 
in  the  dirt  in  his  intrigues  with  Napoleon.  This  unscrupulous 
grandee  whom  the  court  shamelessly  trusted  and  honored  was  Don 
Manuel  de  Godoy,  a  member  of  a  noble  but  reduced  family,  whose 
influence,  coupletl  with  his  own  good  looks  and  gay  manners,  had 
secured  him  tlic  appointment  of  an  officer  of  the  royal  bodyguard 
at  ^Madrid.  From  this  post,  through  the  influence  of  the  queen, 
Godoy  rose  to  be  first  secretary  of  state,  and  afterwards  duke  of 
Alcudia,  the  queen,  Alaria  Louisa,  not  only  loading  him  with 
honors,  but  living  in  the  most  scandalous  relations  with  him  under 
tl;e  very  eyes  oi  her  infatuated,  unkingly  husband.  Into  such  un- 
worthy hands  did  the  administration  of  Spanish  affairs  fall  during 


482  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1792-1795 

one  of  the  most  critical  eras  in  the  history  of  the  nation.  What 
wonder  that  in  the  ferment  which  was  to  arise,  in  consequence  of 
Napoleonic  ambition  and  unscrupulousness,  the  degradation  of 
the  country  ensued,  due  to  the  intrigues  of  this  debauched  minis- 
terial traitor  and  the  rival  opposition  and  caballing  of  the  heir- 
apparent,  the  unfilial  and  hardly  less  scrupulous  Ferdinand,  who 
afterwards  came  to  the  throne  as  the  seventh  of  his  name! 

By  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  followed  by  the  flight  of 
Louis  XVI.  to  Varennes,  the  storming  of  the  Tuileries,  the  Sep- 
tember (1792)  massacres,  and  the  proclamation  of  the  republic, 
Spain  was  greatly  alarmed,  and  so  disturbed  over  the  impending 
fate  of  the  king  that  she  sent  a  communication  to  the  French  Na- 
tional Convention  asking  that  he  and  his  be  considerately  dealt  with. 
To  this  interposition  the  convention  paid  no  heed;  and  when  the 
French  king  was  beheaded  an  outburst  of  horror  and  indignation 
came  from  every  part  of  Spain,  with  appeals  to  Charles  IV.'s  ad- 
ministration for  vengeance  on  the  regicides.  Although  the  court 
went  into  mourning  for  the  hapless  Louis,  nothing  was  done  in  re- 
sponse to  this  appeal  or  to  the  desire  of  the  nation,  either  in  the  way 
of  restoring  the  Bourbon  dynasty  in  France,  or  even  in  utilizing 
what  military  force  the  country  nominally  possessed  to  visit  upon 
the  republic  a  sense  of  Spain's  horror  at  its  hideous  misdeed.  This 
criminal  remissness  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authorities  shows 
the  extent  of  the  paralysis  which  had  fallen  upon  the  crown  and  the 
ministry,  and  revealed  also  the  weakness  and  unpreparedness  of  the 
military  administration,  which,  while  it  had  at  its  command  any 
number  of  bemedaled  generals  and  dissipated  superior  officers,  had 
no  army  worth  speaking  of,  and  no  money  in  the  country's  coffers 
to  pay  and  maintain  one. 

Spain's  revulsion  of  feeling  against  the  French  republic  for 
putting  to  death  Louis  XVL  and  his  consort,  Marie  Antoinette,  and 
her  espousing  with  Britain,  Austria,  and  Prussia  the  monarchical 
cause,  brought  upon  the  Spanish  Peninsula  the  horrors  of  war,  and 
the  invasion  of  large  bodies  of  French  troops.  The  campaign  of 
1794  went  against  Spain,  and  Godoy,  ever  averse  to  war,  hastened 
to  make  peace.  This  was  obtained  (July,  1795)  by  the  treaty  of 
Basel,  which  cost  Spain,  besides  a  money  indemnity  to  the  republic, 
the  loss  of  the  Spanish  portion  of  Santo  Domingo.  It  moreover 
made  Spain  a  practical  vassal  of  France,  through  the  relations  of 
Godoy,  "  tlie  Prince  of  Peace,"  with  the  French  minister  at  ]\Iadrid. 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  483 

1795-1803 

In  the  following  year  Spanish  alliance  with  the  Dutch  brought 
on  Spain  a  war  with  England,  in  which  she  suffered  a  further  de- 
spoilment of  her  colonial  possessions  and  the  practical  annihilation 
of  her  commerce  with  the  West  Indies.  While  at  war  with  Eng- 
land, France  besought  Spain  to  invade  Portugal ;  but  to  this  Godoy 
was  averse,  and  Truguet,  the  French  admiral  and  ambassador, 
brought  pressure  to  bear  upon  Charles  IV.  and  his  queen  to  dismiss 
him  from  his  post,  supplemented  by  the  clamors  of  the  influential 
people  of  Madrid,  who  by  this  time  bitterly  hated  and  mistrusted 
the  minister.  In  the  midst  of  these  internal  dissensions,  England 
swept  the  remainder  of  the  Spanish  marine  from  the  high  seas,  and 
in  the  battle  of  Cape  St.  Vincent  captured  or  destroyed  a  large 
portion  of  her  fleet,  taking  from  her  also  the  West  Indian  island  of 
Trinidad. 

Meanwhile  Bonaparte,  after  his  first  campaign  in  Italy,  had 
gone  to  Egypt.  There  he  had  won  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids,  be- 
sides capturing  Alexandria  and  Cairo,  and  although  the  French  fleet 
was  practically  destroyed  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  he  had  returned 
to  France  (October,  1799),  and  there,  setting  aside  the  directory, 
he  seized  power  as  first  consul  and  established  under  the  consulate 
an  absolute  government.  Flis  strong  rule  put  an  end  to  the  dis- 
orders of  the  Revolution,  but  his  mastery  of  European  affairs 
brought  with  it  new  complications.  His  assumption,  later  on,  of 
the  title  of  emperor  gave  play  to  his  soaring  ambitions,  although 
after  the  treaty  of  Luneville,  which  confirmed  that  with  Austria  at 
Campo-Formio,  he  accorded  Europe  a  brief  period  of  peace.  Eng- 
land after  the  rupture  of  the  peace  of  Amiens  was  the  first  to  again 
engage  in  war,  and  against  her  Napoleon  massed  troops  at  Bou- 
logne, with  the  design  of  invading  the  British  Isles.  He  at  the 
same  time  set  on  foot  a  project  for  the  invasion  of  Portugal  and 
called  on  the  services  of  the  Spanish  fleet  to  aid  him  in  his  contem- 
plated operations  against  England.  To  enable  him  to  pursue  his 
designs,  lie  caused  Godoy  to  be  restored  to  the  prime  ministership 
at  Madrid,  and  cajoled  him,  in  opposition  to  the  Spanish  court,  into 
marching  with  the  forces  of  Spain  into  Portugal,  in  the  vain  hope 
of  being  placed  at  the  head  of  that  kingdom.  This  undertaking  of 
Godoy  was  inglorious  and  futile,  for  neither  he  nor  his  command 
ever  met  the  Portuguese  in  battle,  but  tlie  country  was  overrun  by 
French  troops  and  in  part  dismembered.  Spain  for  the  next  few 
years  remained  neutral  in  her  vassalage  to  I'^rance,  to  which  power 


484  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1803-1806 

she  had  ceded  Louisiana,  though  under  restrictions  as  to  its  future 
disposal  by  France.  To  this  restriction,  Napoleon,  however,  paid 
no  heed,  in  his  then  great  need  of  money,  for  he  ahnost  immediately 
transferred  the  territory  to  the  United  States,  while  he  quietly 
pocketed  the  price  the  American  republic  had  paid  for  it. 

After  1803,  when  war  was  declared  by  England,  there  was 
increasing  friction  with  Spain,  in  consequence  of  her  still  cooper- 
ating with  France  and  supplying  her  with  contraband  of  war.  This 
brought  upon  the  Spanish  fleet  the  attention  of  the  British  navy, 
under  Nelson,  to  which  Spain  retorted  by  a  declaration  of  war 
in  December,  1804,  and  by  instructing  her  fleet  to  join  that  of 
France,  at  the  time  in  the  harbor  of  Toulon.  Eluding  the  vigilance 
of  Nelson,  the  French  squadron  stole  out  of  Toulon  and  joining 
the  Spanish  ships  they  together  set  out  for  the  West  Indies  with  the 
hope  of  drawing  Nelson  away  from  British  waters.  Succeeding 
in  this  ruse,  the  French  admiral  then  stole  back  with  a  squadron, 
but  was  met  off  Cape  Finisterre  by  some  British  ships  of  the  line, 
which  in  an  engagement  that  took  place  so  crippled  his  fleet  that  it 
was  obliged  to  seek  Cadiz  for  repairs.  Nelson  had  by  this  time 
returned;  and  in  October,  1805,  encountering  the  combined  French 
and  Spanish  fleet  in  Trafalgar  Bay,  near  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar, 
he  bore  down  upon  the  allies  and  vanquished  them.  In  the  engage- 
ment the  famous  English  admiral  lost  his  life,  but  saved  his  coun- 
try from  invasion  and  made  Britain  again  supreme  on  her  natural 
element.  Although  beaten  at  sea,  the  French,  owing  to  Napoleon's 
marvelous  generalship,  continued  supreme  on  land.  Marching  his 
"  Grand  Army  "  in  1805  into  Austria,  Napoleon  compelled  the  sur- 
render of  30,000  Austrians  at  Ulm,  and  entered  Vienna.  Proceed- 
ing thence  into  Moravia,  he  reached  the  crown  of  his  successes  in 
a  victory  over  the  Russians  and  Austrians  at  Austerlitz ;  and  the 
next  year  he  crushed  Prussia  at  Jena.  From  the  Prussian  capital 
he  then  issued  his  famous  Berlin  decrees,  declaring  the  British 
Islands  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  and  ordering  the  ports  of 
Europe  to  be  closed  against  their  commerce.  Britain  replied  to 
this  act  by  forbidding  any  neutral  power  to  trade  with  France  or 
her  allies.  The  effect  of  these  war  measures  was  injurious  to 
English  commerce,  and  some  years  afterwards  led  to  further  trouble 
and  to  war  with  the  United  States. 

While  these  events  were  happening  the  period  was  marked  by 
continued  internal  dissension  in  Spain,  owing  to  the  intrigues  of 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  485 

1806-1807 

Spain's  heir-apparent,  Ferdinand,  prince  of  the  Asturias,  to  force 
his  parents  from  the  Spanish  throne,  instigated  thereto  by  De  Beau- 
harnais,  the  French  ambassador  at  the  time  at  Madrid,  who  was 
related  by  marriage  to  the  Empress  Josephine.  Ferdinand  was  also 
gravely  incensed  against  Godoy,  the  queen's  scheming  favorite,  who, 
for  his  own  ends,  was  playing  fast  and  loose  with  his  country's 
interests,  and  who,  like  Ferdinand,  was  also  paying  obsequious 
homage  to  Napoleon.  Godoy,  on  his  part,  had  no  love  for  Ferdi- 
nand, owning  to  the  growing  admiration  of  the  Spanish  people  for 
the  prince,  and  to  their  looking  to  him  to  deliver  the  nation  from 
the  wiles  of  Godoy  and  from  the  weak  subservience  to  France  of 
Charles  and  his  queen.  At  the  instigation  of  Godoy,  who,  as  ever, 
was  playing  to  his  own  hand,  Charles  IV,  placed  his  son  Ferdinand 
under  arrest,  and  seized  his  papers,  which  disclosed  his  secret  cor- 
respondence with  the  French  emperor.  The  king  released  Ferdinand 
only  after  extorting  from  him,  aided  by  the  craft  of  the  queen  and 
Godoy,  a  full  confession  of  his  designs  and  caballings,  including, 
under  threat,  a  trumped-up  charge,  of  which  he  was  guiltless,  of 
harboring  the  project  of  making  away  by  murder  with  his  father 
and  mother.  These  intrigues  on  Godoy's  part  were  but  schemes 
to  ingratiate  himself  with  Napoleon  and  served  as  an  excuse  for 
the  latter's  action  in  sending  an  army  into  Spain  under  Murat,  with 
the  ulterior  object  of  dethroning  the  king  and  queen,  putting  aside 
their  alienated  and  hated  son,  the  heir-apparent,  and  then  placing  the 
crown  of  Spain  on  the  head  of  some  member  of  the  Napoleonic 
family. 

But  before  dealing  more  in  detail  with  these  incidents  in 
Spain's  humiliating  annals,  it  is  necessary  to  return  to  Napoleon 
for  a  moment,  follow  brielly  his  actions  in  Europe,  and  see  how  he 
came  finally  to  the  close  of  his  career. 

The  Berlin  decrees  were  supplemented  in  the  following  year, 
1807,  by  the  Alilan  decree,  declaring  all  British  ports  throughout  the 
world  under  blockade.  Napoleon  had,  moreover,  just  returned 
from  subscribing  to  the  Peace  of  Tilsit,  on  the  river  Niemen,  with 
Czar  Alexander  of  Russia  and  Frederick  William  III.  of  Prussia. 
He  had  also  just  gained  Denmark  as  an  ally  and  induced  her  to 
declare  war  against  his  arch-enemy,  Britain.  Not  satisfied  with  his 
successes  on  the  military  fields  of  Europe  or  with  playing  the  part 
of  dictcitur  to  its  rulers,  he  now  began  to  set  up  and  pull  down 
kings,  as  his  humor  or  his  ambition  prompted  him.      His  brother 


486  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1807-1815 

Joseph  he  put  on  the  throne  of  Naples,  and  another  brother,  Louis, 
he  made  king  of  Holland.  Presently  he  cast  covetous  eyes,  as  has 
been  said,  on  the  crown  of  Spain,  and,  deposing  Charles  IV.,  he 
transferred  Joseph  from  Naples  to  Madrid.  But  the  Spaniards  rose 
in  arms  and  after  a  time  drove  Joseph  out,  and  then  called  on 
Britain  to  help  them  to  restrain  Napoleon's  aggressions.  England 
replied  by  sending  an  army  into  Portugal,  under  Sir  Arthur  Welles- 
ley,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  India,  and  who  presently 
won  the  rank  and  title  of  Viscount  Wellington.  This  great  soldier 
began  his  successes  in  the  Peninsular  war  by  defeating  the  French 
at  Vimeiro,  in  August,  1808.  For  a  time  his  operations  w'cre  inter- 
fered with  by  the  timidity  of  Spain  and  by  the  lukewarmness  of  the 
English  ministry,  which  cost  Sir  John  Moore  his  life  in  the  famous 
engagement  at  Corunna.  But  in  the  following  year  Wellington 
was  able  to  march  into  Spain  and  win  the  battle  of  Talavera,  in- 
flicting great  loss  upon  the  French,  though  he  was  compelled  to 
withdraw  again  to  Portugal.  Here  he  won  the  battle  of  Busaco, 
and  entrenching  himself  behind  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras,  near 
Lisbon,  he  defied  the  French  general,  Massena,  wnth  his  80,000 
veterans.  The  next  year,  the  British,  issuing  from  Torres  Vedras, 
won  in  rapid  succession  Barossa,  Fuentes  de  Onoro,  and  Albuera. 
In  181 2  Wellington  pursued  his  victorious  career  by  capturing  the 
two  border  fortresses  of  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Badajoz,  and  by  in- 
flicting a  ruinous  defeat  on  Marshal  Marmont  at  Salamanca.  The 
next  two  years  shed  additional  luster  on  the  British  arms,  for  at 
Vittoria  Wellington  scattered  the  French  under  King  Joseph  of 
Spain  and  Marshal  Jourdan,  and  overthrew  Soult  and  his  forces 
at  Toulouse.  By  these  victories  the  French  were  driven  across  the 
Pyrenees,  and  the  campaign  in  the  Spanish  Peninsula  was  brought 
to  a  close.  Napoleon  had  meanwhile  undertaken  his  disastrous 
expedition  into  Russia,  and  had  led  a  new  army  into  Germany, 
where  he  met  with  a  crushing  defeat  at  Leipsic.  From  Saxony  he 
fled  back  to  France,  with  the  allied  forces  of  Russia,  Austria,  and 
Prussia  at  his  heels.  Entering  Paris,  in  18 14,  the  allies  compelled 
Napoleon  to  abdicate,  and  retire  to  the  island  of  Elba. 

Early  in  the  year  181 5  Europe's  dream  of  peace  was  rudely  dis- 
turbed by  Napoleon's  return  to  France,  the  dethroned  emperor 
having  escaped  from  Elba.  Once  more  he  was  at  the  head  of  his 
army,  and  the  great  powers  instantly  allied  themselves  to  crush 
him.      Wellington   with  an   English   army  entered   Belgium   and 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  487 

1815 

sought  to  effect  a  junction  with  the  Prussians  under  Bliicher. 
Napoleon,  divining  Welhngton's  purpose,  dispatched  half  of  his 
army,  under  Marshal  Ney,  to  attack  the  British,  while  he  himself 
attacked  the  Prussians  and  beat  them  at  Ligny.  On  the  day  on 
which  this  battle  was  fought,  Wellington  met  the  French  at  Quatre 
Bras,  and  though  Ney  strove  for  hours  to  force  his  position,  the 
attacks  were  gallantly  repulsed.  The  English  then  fell  back  to 
Waterloo,  and  with  their  Hanoverian  and  Belgian  allies  waited  for 
the  Prussians  to  come  up.  Here,  on  Sunday,  June  i8,  1815, 
was  fought  the  decisive  battle  of  the  campaign.  The  oppos- 
ing forces  were  numerically  well  matched,  each  side  having  on  the 
field  from  70,000  to  80,000  men.  After  a  stubborn,  all-day  con- 
test, the  French  were  defeated,  with  a  total  loss  of  nearly  40,000 
men.  while  the  loss  of  the  allies  reached  30,000.  Napoleon  escaped 
from  the  field,  but  a  fev\^  weeks  later  he  surrendered  himself  to  the 
British,  when  he  was  banished  to  the  island  of  St.  Helena.  He 
died  six  years  later,  and  Europe  for  many  years  thereafter  enjoyed 
almost  uninterrupted  peace. 

Spain  had  been  closely  entangled  in  the  web  of  Napoleon's 
ambitious  designs.  At  Madrid,  Bonaparte's  brother,  Joseph,  had 
been  taken,  in  1808,  from  his  clement  rule  in  Naples  and  placed 
on  the  throne  of  Spain  as  king,  or  rather  viceroy,  under  the 
French  emperor.  Charles  IV.  and  his  queen  had  been  forced  to 
abdicate,  while  Ferdinand's  claim  to  the  throne  was  roughly  set 
aside.  The  capital  was  full  of  l-'rench  troops  under  Murat,  and 
Joseph,  though  reluctant  to  accept  the  Spanish  crown,  was  encour- 
aged to  do  so  by  the  then  friendly  attitude  of  the  Spanish  Junta 
and  by  the  sympathies  of  many  of  the  Spanish  people,  at  that  period 
favorable  to  the  French,  in  the  hope  of  getting  rid  of  the  obnoxious 
rule  of  Godoy.  The  mass  of  the  Spanish  people  were,  however, 
sullen  and  patriotically  averse  to  the  French,  disliking  foreigners, 
and  hating  to  see  their  beloved  land  overrun  and  dominated  by 
French  troops,  whom,  in  stealthy  guerrilla  fashion,  they  shot  down, 
mutilated,  and  massacred  whenever  opportunity  offered.  Madrid 
was  at  the  time  in  a  state  of  combustion,  although  Joseph  sought  to 
placate  the  people  with  promises  of  good  government,  the  sum- 
moning of  the  Cortes,  and  the  assurance  that  he  would  maintain  the 
integrity  of  the  kingdom  and  resist  dismemberment,  particularly  of 
the  northern  provinces.  Later  in  the  year  (1808),  Napoleon  him- 
self with  an  army  appeared  at  Madrid,  for  Joseph's  heart  liad  failed 


488  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1808-1814 

him  at  the  appearance  of  things  at  the  capital,  and  he  had  left  it 
within  a  week  of  his  entry  into  it.  Napoleon's  coming  was  partly 
to  examine  for  himself  the  actual  situation  in  Spain,  and  partly 
from  concern  at  the  critical  position  of  Junot  in  Portugal,  who  was 
hard  beset  by  Wellington  intent  on  driving  the  French  out  of  the 
country.  Joseph  then  returned  to  Madrid,  and  was  induced,  though 
with  continued  misgiving,  to  resume  the  Spanish  crown  and  begin 
to  organize  an  administration.  This  he  found  was  difficult  to  do  in 
the  impoverished  financial  condition  of  the  kingdom,  and  in  the 
absence  of  any  real  power  over  a  turbulent  and  partly  disaffected 
people  save  what  was  lent  to  him  by  the  armies  of  the  emperor.  In 
truth,  Joseph  was  king  only  in  name  and  by  the  grace  and  command 
of  his  brother,  to  whom  at  this  time  he  wrote  pathetic  letters  re- 
counting the  difficulties  of  his  position,  and  modestly  declaring 
doubt  as  to  his  ability  to  contend  with  them  or  to  win  the  Spanish 
people  over  to  him,  even  by  his  accustomed  complacency  and 
kindness. 

Nor  did  the  situation  brighten  for  Spain,  King  Joseph,  or 
Napoleon,  while  war  was  going  on  in  Portugal,  where  Wellington 
beat  the  French  successively  under  Soult,  Massena,  and  Marmont, 
and  after  the  victory  at  Salamanca  entered  Madrid  in  August,  1812. 
Still  more  inauspicious  was  the  prospect  of  Joseph's  permanent  rule 
in  Spain  when  the  emperor  had  undertaken  his  campaign  in  Russia, 
and  then  by  his  delay  and  the  severity  of  the  winter  had  lost  his 
"  Grand  Army."  At  length  Joseph's  position  became  insupport- 
able, after  the  emperor  had  commanded  him  to  take  the  field  in 
person  at  the  head  of  Spain's  troops  in  alliance  with  those  of  France. 
At  the  battle  of  Vittoria  (June,  181 3)  his  troops  were  routed,  and 
those  of  France  gave  way  before  Wellington.  The  king  fled  from  the 
field  and  took  refuge  across  the  French  frontier  in  St.  Jean  de  Luz, 
later  on  finding  his  way  to  Paris.  Meanwhile  Spain,  under  its  pro- 
visional government,  was  lost  to  France,  whose  emperor,  having 
abdicated,  had  been  sent  to  Elba  by  the  powers  allied  against  him ; 
while  Ferdinand,  liberated  from  durance  at  Valengay,  was  restored 
to  his  rights  on  the  throne  of  the  kingdom,  !May,  18 14. 

The  restoration  of  Ferdinand  was  an  unhappy  result  for  Spain, 
for  he  had  learned  nothing,  and  at  once  abolished  the  Cortes,  set 
aside  the  constitution  of  18 12,  re-cstablislied  the  Inquisition,  set  up 
a  despotic  government,  and  refused  to  cooperate  with  the  British 
in   expelling   the    remaining    French    troops   from    the   kingdom. 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  489 

1808-1809 

Insurrectionary  risings  broke  out  in  various  sections  of  the 
country,  while  it  is  computed  that  ten  thousand  people  fled  into 
France  to  escape  imprisonment  by  the  reactionary,  absolutist  gov- 
ernment which  the  king  had  installed,  consisting  of  the  most  worth- 
less and  incapable  of  his  courtiers.  Among  but  few  of  the 
people  did  liberal,  progressive  opinions  prevail,  and  these  were 
either  harshly  treated  or  expelled  from  the  country,  while  patriots 
were  driven  into  the  mountainous  regions  to  become  bandits.  Had 
Ferdinand  brought  to  his  councils  wise  ministers  instead  of  the 
despotic  ideas  of  his  family,  the  wretched  condition  of  Spain  after 
his  accession  might  have  been  averted,  and  some  advance  made 
towards  progress  and  an  enlightened  freedom  under  constitutional 
rule.  But  the  masses  were  as  yet  little  accustomed  to  any  enlight- 
ened political  life,  having  been  so  long  under  bondage  to  the  des- 
potism of  their  inherited  rulers.  Ferdinand  was  not  only  incapable, 
but  possessed  a  narrow,  reactionary,  and  illiberal  mind. 

The  Spanish  peasant,  however,  could  fight  valorously  and 
stubbornly  when  resolutely  led.  In  the  two  famous  sieges  of 
Saragossa,  in  1808- 1809,  the  fortress  city  had  been  nobly  defended 
by  Don  Joseph  Palafox  against  35,000  French  besiegers  under 
Marshals  Moncey  and  Mortier,  and  later  under  Junot  and  the 
invincible  Marshal  Lannes,  duke  of  Montebello.  The  second 
siege  is  renowned  in  history,  the  defense  by  the  Spanish  soldiers, 
guerrillas,  and  citizens,  including  even  priests  and  women,  "  crown- 
ing with  everlasting  glory  the  Spanish  War  of  Independence."  In 
the  city  had  gathered  for  its  defense,  besides  20,000  citizens  and 
fugitive  peasants,  about  30,000  soldiers,  with  some  3,000  artillery- 
men and  sap[)ers ;  while  the  public  magazines  were  provisioned  with 
six  months'  material  and  supplies,  besides  stores  in  the  possession 
of  private  citizens  and  the  conventual  communities.  "  The  citi- 
zens," writes  Napier  in  his  "  History  of  the  Peninsular  War," 
"  gave  up  their  goods,  their  houses,  and  their  bodies  to  the  war,  and, 
mingling  with  the  peasants  and  soldiers,  formed  one  mighty  garri- 
son suited  to  the  vast  fortress  they  had  formed.  For  doors  and 
windows  were  built  up,  hfuiscfronts  loop-holed,  internal  communi- 
cations opened,  streets  trenched  and  crossed  by  earthen  ramparts 
mounted  with  cannon,  and  every  strong  building  was  a  separate 
fortification ;  there  was  no  weak  point — there  could  be  none  in  a 
city  which  was  all  fortress,  where  the  space  covered  by  houses  was 
the  measure  of  the  ramparts." 


490  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1808-1809 

The  notable  siege  began  at  the  close  of  the  year  1808,  after  the 
French  had  dug  their  trenches,  mounted  their  cannon,  and  put  in 
position  their  siege  train.  Saragossa  was  summoned  to  surrender, 
but  the  brave  Palafox  proudly  rejoined:  "If  Madrid  has  sur- 
rendered, Madrid  has  been  sold:  Saragossa  will  neither  be  sold 
nor  surrendered !  "  Hearing  this  spirited  answer,  the  French 
resolutely  pressed  the  siege,  soon  bringing  the  walls  to  the  ground 
and  crumbling  the  ramparts  by  the  fire  of  their  heavy  guns. 
Their  frequent  rushes  on  weak  spots  were  most  gallantly  re- 
pulsed, each  house  having  been  barricaded  by  strong  defenses, 
manned  by  stout  hearts  and  arms.  Soon  mining  was  resorted  to  by 
the  besiegers,  and  portions  of  the  city  were  blown  up.  In  the 
narrow  and  crowded  limits,  pestilence  broke  out  and  from  400  to 
500  died  daily,  their  bodies  lying  unburied,  thus  adding  the  scourge 
of  disease  and  famine.  Assault  after  assault  took  place,  but  terms 
of  capitulation  were  scornfully  refused,  until  further  resistance 
became  impossible.  Even  then  conditions  were  strictly  defined  by 
the  besieged,  but  were  ill-observed  by  the  French  victors.  A  like 
valor  was  shown  by  the  Spanish  in  Aragon,  at  the  siege  of 
Gerona,  where  the  defenders  held  out  amid  famine,  slaughter,  and 
pestilence  to  the  last  extremity.  Their  fighting  powers  were,  how- 
ever, mainly  shown  in  defense,  and,  when  they  happened  to  be 
bravely  and  inspiringly  led,  which  VN^as  not  often,  as  their  generals 
were  incompetent  and  jealous  of  each  other,  and  consequently  little 
good  in  initiating  large  and  important  movements  or  in  devising 
and  conducting  offensive  operations.  The  Spaniards,  moreover, 
have  always  been  difificult  to  arouse  from  their  constitutional  inert- 
ness, while  their  nobles  seem  invariably  to  be  living  in  "  castles  of 
indolence."  Though  their  pride  was  and  ever  remains  great,  often 
absurdly  so,  sectional  jealousy — Castilians  against  Catalans,  and 
Andalusians  against  the  people  of  Granada  and  the  Basque  prov- 
inces— frequently  prevents  national  feeling  from  showing  itself 
effectively  in  great  crises;  while  despotic  rule  in  the  crown  or  in 
governments  and  juntas  keeps  the  people  in  a  state  of  characteristic 
physical  lassitude  and  mental  enslavement. 

With  the  restored  house  of  Bourbon,  in  18 14,  in  the  person  of 
Ferdinand  VIL,  Spain,  now  free  from  the  usurpation  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte  and  French  affiliations,  resumed  her  old  somnolent  way 
until  civil  war  came  in  1820,  when  France,  having  recovered  from 
the  era  of  convulsion  under  the  republic  and  the  Napoleonic  empire, 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  491 

1814-1823 

once  more  interposed  (1823)  in  the  affairs  of  the  Peninsula, 
through  the  intermediary  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  In  the  interval 
not  much  of  import  happened  in  the  kingdom;  while  it  remained 
free  from  the  machinations  of  Charles  IV.,  his  queen,  and  her  lover 
Godoy,  all  of  whom  had  become  residents  of  France,  living  there 
on  the  proceeds  of  the  bargain  and  sale  Napoleon  had  cor- 
ruptly made  with  them.  The  constitution  of  18 12  had  been 
annulled  and  the  Inquisition  again  established.  The  prisons 
were  filled  with  political  offenders,  including  many  of  the  more  ob- 
noxious of  the  late  deputies  of  the  Cortes.  Thousands  of  liberal- 
minded  citizens  of  the  chief  towns,  with  large  numbers  of  the  intelli- 
gent classes  from  various  sections  in  the  country,  fled  across  the 
frontiers  of  the  kingdom.  Only  the  submissive  peasantry  and  the 
favored  creatures  of  the  king  were  to  be  found  among  Ferdi- 
nand's supporters.  Nor  under  him  did  the  national  revenues  in 
any  measure  thrive,  for  anarchy  was  rife  in  the  Spanish-American 
colonies,  their  trade  crippled  and  no  wealth  came  from  that  quarter. 
The  navy,  moreover,  had  been  disastrously  reduced  in  the  War  of 
Independence,  and  many  of  Spain's  merchant  ships  had  been  cap- 
tured by  pirates,  then  infesting  the  high  seas.  The  national  troops 
were  disaffected  and  mutinous,  in  consequence  of  the  finances  being 
in  such  utter  confusion.  The  result  of  these  conditions  in  the 
nation  was  to  revive  insurrections,  headed  by  guerrilla  leaders,  and 
even  the  responsible  classes  and  educated  citizens  ere  long  took  part 
and  clamored  for  some  approach  to  constitutional  government,  and 
the  convening  of  the  Cortes. 

Only  the  imminent  peril  in  which  Spain  found  herself  at  this 
period,  with  a  new  and  menacing  revolt  among  the  troops  at  Cadiz, 
brought  Ferdinand  in  a  measure  to  his  senses.  But  before  mutiny 
broke  out  at  Cadiz  the  king  had  a  taste  of  trouble  elsewhere  in  his 
dominions.  Besides  general  unrest  over  the  whole  country  and 
disaffection  arising  from  unconstitutional  rule,  there  was  an  insur- 
rection in  Catalonia,  and  another  rising  in  Valencia,  both  of  which 
conspiracies  were  suppressed  with  cruel  severity.  But  the  chief 
trouljle  was  among  a  portion  of  the  disaffected  army  stationed  on 
the  Isle  de  Leon,  near  Cadiz,  where  troops  had  been  assembled  to 
set  out  for  Central  and  South  America,  to  repress  civil  strife  in  the 
colonies  and  trading  ports  on  the  otlier  side  of  the  Atlantic.  To 
this  expedition  many  of  the  troops  demurred,  owing  to  fear  of  dis- 
ease frrjiu  tlic  malarious  foreign  climate,  but  chielly  because  favored 


492  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1814-1823 

officers  obnoxious  to  the  soldiery  had  been  placed  over  them.  The 
Cadiz  merchants  also  looked  coldly  upon  the  expedition,  as  they 
deemed  it  likely  to  interfere  with  commerce  and  the  maritime  trade, 
and  took  umbrage  against  the  administration  for  ordering  its 
departure ;  while  their  protest  against  its  going  added  to  the  general 
clamor  now  manifesting  itself  for  a  change  in  the  king's  advisers 
and  for  the  assembling  of  the  Cortes,  or  national  legislature.  The 
insurrectionary  mood  of  the  troops  adverse  to  the  dreaded  South 
American  expedition  was  shortly  after  this  sharply  dealt  with  by 
General  O'Donnell,  an  officer  of  Irish  descent  who,  with  his  notable 
brother,  was  then  serving  in  the  Spanish  army,  and  had  received 
marks  of  high  favor  from  the  court,  with  the  rank  and  title  of 
Count  d'Abisbal.  This  general  officer,  by  a  ruse,  learned  who 
were  the  ringleaders  among  the  officers  of  the  regiments  ordered 
abroad,  and  who  had  demurred  to  the  dispatch  of  the  expedition. 
These  he  peremptorily  placed  under  arrest,  while  he  compelled  3,000 
of  the  troops  to  embark,  and  the  remainder  of  the  mutinous  garrison 
he  dispersed  among  various  other  provinces  of  the  kingdom.  To 
add  to  the  excitement  at  Cadiz  and  to  the  depression  of  the  citizens 
at  this  time,  a  severe  epidemic  of  yellow  fever  broke  out  in  the  city, 
which  decimated  many  thousands  of  the  population. 

During  the  disturbance  among  the  troops  at  Cadiz  there 
Vvcre  signs  of  more  extended  disaffection  throughout  the  whole 
army,  though  its  source  and  center  was  Cadiz,  instigated  by 
sympathy  with  the  movement  in  the  camp  close  by  the  city  adverse 
to  the  denationalized  government  and  its  unpopular  administration. 
This  sympathetic  movement  practically  showed  itself  (1820)  in  the 
sturdy,  patriotic  attitude  of  a  soldier-leader,  who  had  served  against 
Napoleon,  and  who  presently  won  for  himself  an  honored  name  in 
the  history  and  song  of  his  country.  This  was  General  Rafael  del 
Riego  y  Nunez,  of  Oviedo,  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  revo- 
lution in  southern  Spain  against  the  reactionary  government,  be- 
came for  a  time  president  of  the  Cortes,  and,  when,  in  1823,  the 
French  again  interposed  in  Spanish  affairs,  was  taken  prisoner  and 
executed  as  a  traitor  at  Madrid.  His  regiment  was  one  of  those  in 
the  Isle  de  Leon  that  had  been  ordered  to  South  America,  but  had 
refused  to  be  sent.  Associated  with  him  were  other  fellow-patriots, 
among  them  General  Ouiroga,  and  the  eloquent  civilian  Galiano, 
who  together  revived  and  publicly  proclaimed  the  ignored  consti- 
tution of  1812;  and,  placing  themselves  at  the  head  of  a  body  of 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  493 

1814-1823 

insurgents,  marched  through  Andalusia,  captured  several  of  the 
crown's  loyal  general  officers,  and  roused  the  people  to  demand  a 
more  worthy  and  enlightened  national  government.  The  outbreak, 
which  at  once  became  general  over  the  country,  ere  long  developed 
into  civil  war,  instigating  even  a  rising  in  Madrid,  where  vocifer- 
ous crowds  demanded  governmental  reforms,  and  set  up  in  public 
places  what  we  would  call  "Trees  of  Liberty,"  emblems  in  Spain 
of  the  lapida  (or  pillar)  of  the  constitution. 

Though  the  authorities  at  Madrid  sought  to  check  and  harshly 
repress  the  reform  movement,  the  insurrectionary  ferment  continued 
to  spread,  and  as  it  gathered  strength  it  was  joined  in  by  other 
noted  Spanish  insurgents,  among  whom  was  the  guerrilla  chieftain, 
Francisco  Mina,  who  had  fought  against  the  French  in  1808-1810, 
and  was  actively  hostile  to  King  Ferdinand  and  his  creatures  in 
power.  The  movement  even  received  the  countenance  and  sup- 
port of  the  O'Donnells,  who  had  been  high  in  favor  at  court.  They 
now  took  actively  the  revolutionary  side,  and  though  one  of  the 
brothers  had  been  sent  from  Madrid  to  suppress  the  rising  in  Galicia, 
both  now  proclaimed  the  constitution  and  erected  provisional  gov- 
ernments in  Galica  and  Castile.  At  last,  thoroughly  alarmed  for 
his  own  safety  and  the  preservation  of  his  crown,  Ferdinand  yielded 
to  pressure  and  promised  to  accept  the  constitution,  which  had  long 
been  held  in  abeyance,  and  to  convoke  the  Cortes.  In  the  public 
square  at  the  capital  this  turn  of  affairs  was  announced,  amid  the 
shouts  and  rejoicing  of  the  people;  while  the  magistrates,  together 
with  the  grandees  at  tlie  court,  all  joined  in  accepting  the  promised 
new  order  of  things  and  also  gave  their  adherence  to  the  consti- 
tution. 

The  Cortes  was  summoned  for  July,  1820,  while  the  election 
of  deputies  forthwith  proceeded,  and  a  change  in  the  king's  minis- 
ters took  place.  So  far,  General  Riego's  leadership  of  the  insur- 
rectionary movement  proved  favoraljle  to  a  new  order  of  things, 
though  ri(~)ting  and  disturbances  still  prevailed,  and  in  the  capital 
the  king's  palace  was  attacked  by  a  mob.  When  the  Cortes  assem- 
bled, many  good  measures  were  projected  and  some  of  them 
passed,  but  others  of  an  objecticjnablc  character  were  proposed, 
under  pressure  of  the  reactionary  section  in  the  house,  influenced  by 
the  (^l)scc|nious  adherents  of  the  court  party,  who  were  determindcdly 
opposed  to  remedial  legislation  and  to  the  liberalizing  tendencies 
manifesting  themselves  in  the  Cortes  as  well  as  throughout  the  ciuin- 


494  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1814-1823 

try.  The  parties,  though  mixed  as  well  as  antagonistic  within  the 
house,  on  the  whole  worked  fairly  well  together,  thanks  to  the 
"  moderates,"  who,  welcoming  the  change  that  had  come  about  in 
the  state,  and  trusting  unwarrantably  the  unworthy  and  vacillating 
monarch,  whose  address  at  the  opening  of  the  Cortes  was  a  thor- 
oughly hypocritical  one,  hoped  for  improved  relations  between  the 
crown  and  the  people,  in  spite  of  the  attitude  of  the  church  and  the 
enslaved,  illiterate  peasantry.  The  Cortes,  nevertheless,  caused 
the  Inquisition  once  more  to  be  abolished  and  the  convents  to  be 
closed,  even  going  so  far  as  to  seize  the  tithes  of  the  secular  clergy 
and  appropriate  them  to  the  necessities  of  the  state. 

The  more  favorable  aspect  of  affairs  remained,  however,  only 
for  a  brief  while,  for  the  civil  disturbances,  which  had  spread  far 
and  wide,  still  continued,  and  with  the  rioting  that  ensued  dreadful 
atrocities  were  committed  on  both  sides.  This,  in  large  measure, 
was  due  to  the  general  lawless  character  of  the  peasantry,  who  were 
made  to  feel  the  wrongs  done  to  the  church,  in  the  decree  of  the 
Cortes  despoiling  the  religious  houses  of  their  treasure  and  revenues 
for  the  needs  of  the  state,  and  who  thus  showed,  by  their  truculent 
turbulence,  their  protest  against  the  clerical  wealth  being  diverted  to 
the  narrow  channels  of  the  national  purse.  Nor  were  affairs  less 
ominous  in  the  capital,  where  the  king  had  shut  himself  up  in  the 
Escurial,  after  unconstitutionally  appointing  a  creature  of  his  own 
captain-general  of  New  Castle  and  seeking  to  restore  some  of  his 
former  ministers  and  servile  advisers.  In  the  upheaval,  socialism 
made  strides,  and  secret  societies,  adopting  the  anarchic  prin- 
ciples of  Robespierreism,  came  into  malign  activity  and  dissem- 
inated the  extreme  doctrines  of  the  Terror  in  France.  In  the 
provinces,  on  the  other  hand,  the  people  were  held  in  considerable 
restraint  by  the  discreet  patriots,  Generals  Riego  and  Francisco 
Mina,  the  former  of  whom  was  made  captain-general  of  Aragon, 
and  the  latter  held  a  similar  command  in  Navarre. 

The  web  of  Spain's  misfortunes  continued  meanwhile  to  be 
spun  by  the  king,  who,  losing  what  little  sense  he  had,  and  shutting 
himself  within  his  palace,  with  all  his  venality,  barrenness  of  heart, 
and  brutish,  heedless  nature,  was  now  becoming  enervated  by  his 
excesses.  His  dynasty  seemed  about  to  come  to  a  miserable  close. 
But  before  this  happened,  and  ere  the  nation  saw  the  army  of 
France,  at  the  bidding  of  tlie  monarchical  members  of  tlie  Holy 
AllicUice,  and  in  defiance  of  the  protest  of  England,  once  more  on 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  495 

1823-1824 

the  soil  of  Spain  to  overawe  its  people  and  be  present  at  the  birth 
of  a  new  regime,  Ferdinand  VII.,  relieved  for  the  time  of  the  con- 
trol of  the  Cortes,  which  had  dispersed,  appointed  General  Morillo 
to  quell  disturbance  at  Madrid.  This  he  did  vigorously,  with  a 
trusted  body  of  royalist  troops,  and  even  gave  orders  to  the  authori- 
ties at  Saragossa  to  arrest  the  popular  Riego,  an  act  which  ren- 
dered his  suppression  of  disorder  in  the  capital  more  difficult,  as 
Riego  was  there,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  Spain,  deemed  both  a  pa- 
triot and  a  hero.  The  result  of  the  continued  trouble  and  of  the 
threatening  attitude  of  France,  whose  troops  were  now  being 
massed  on  the  frontier  for  the  purpose  of  again  invading  the  Penin- 
sula, was  the  summoning  of  an  emergency  session  of  the  Cortes. 
The  times  were  now  such  that  no  calm  legislation  could  be  at- 
tempted, and  though  Riego,  having  been  conditionally  released  from 
imprisonment,  was  at  this  juncture  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the 
body,  little  could  be  done  to  calm  the  excitement  within  and  without 
the  Cortes.  Amid  the  warring  elements  the  king,  failing  in  his  at- 
tempt to  get  rid  of  his  liberal  ministers,  abandoned  the  capital  for 
Seville,  and  a  state  of  chaos  threatened  to  ensue. 

Meanwhile,  the  duke  of  Angouleme  and  his  troops  crossed  the 
Bidassoa,  April  7,  1823,  and  though  opposed  for  a  time  by  General 
Mina  in  Catalonia,  entered  the  country,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
O'Donnell,  who  had  again  turned  his  coat,  marched  upon  Madrid. 
Here  a  regency  was  instituted  until,  as  the  French  said,  the  king 
could  be  liberated  from  his  quasi-captivity  at  Seville.  The 
duke  of  Angouleme  returned  to  L'rance,  leaving  40,000  French  sol- 
diers in  the  capital.  Ferdinand,  who  at  Seville  had  been  practically 
deposed  by  the  Cortes  that  had  followed  him  thither,  was  released, 
and  arrests  and  imprisonments  followed,  as  many  as  40,000  Con- 
stitutionalists, it  is  historically  stated,  being  thrown  into  confine- 
ment. A  new  minister,  however,  M.  Bermudez,  was  named,  who 
sought  to  placate  parties  and  rule  with  moderation.  A  dire  mishap, 
at  which  we  have  heretofore  hinted,  now  occurred,  in  the  bringing 
of  the  patriot  Riego  to  trial,  and  though  unconvicted,  for  no  prose- 
cuting counsel  could  be  got  to  act  against  him,  he  was  ignominously 
executed  in  November,  1823,  at  the  capital. 

In  May,  1824,  a  so-called  general  amnesty  was  published,  but 
the  classes  exempt  from  its  clemency  were  so  numerous,  particularly 
those  who  had  opposed  the  king  and  his  absoKitist  proclivities,  that 
it  was  a  practical  nullity.      It  only  intensified  the  still  smoldering 


496  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1824-1832 

disaffection  of  the  nation,  or  at  least  that  part  of  it  which  expected 
an  improved  administration,  with  the  cessation  of  disorder  and 
strife,  in  the  new  aspect  of  things.  There  was  lience  no  hope  for 
the  constitutional  party,  or  what  remained  of  it  after  the  execution, 
escape,  or  deportation  of  the  mass  of  its  members.  The  Jesuits 
were  meanwhile  recalled,  although  Ferdinand  did  not  dare  to  re- 
establish the  Inquisition ;  but  the  "  Army  of  Faith,"  under  obedient 
royalist  generals,  continued  in  many  provinces  to  do  the  murderous 
bidding  of  the  commander-in-chief  and  the  new  administration, 
"  more  royalist  than  the  king,"  which  Ferdinand  VII.,  with  the 
approval  of  the  French,  had  called  to  the  service  of  the  state.  The 
revolution  of  1830  in  France  kept  agitation  alive  throughout 
the  Peninsula.  Risings  and  raids  became  once  more  general,  to- 
gether with  a  revolt  in  Catalonia,  with  the  design  of  raising  Don 
Carlos,  brother  of  Ferdinand  and  heir  presumptive,  to  the  throne. 
The  clamor  for  Don  Carlos  was  due  not  only  to  the  fact  that,  in  the 
absence  of  any  direct  male  heir  to  Ferdinand,  he  was  the  legitimate 
successor  to  the  crown,  but  also  to  the  fact  that  he  was  popular 
throughout  Spain.  Ferdinand,  once  more  a  widower,  desired  to 
marry  again,  and  this,  in  1830,  he  proceeded  to  do,  espousing  as  his 
fourth  wife  the  Princess  Maria  Christina,  of  Naples.  On  this  nevv^ 
alliance  taking  place,  abrogation  of  the  Salic  law,  through  the  prag- 
matic sanction,  was  enacted,  and  this  set  aside  the  claim  of  Don 
Carlos  to  succeed  his  brother  on  the  latter's  decease,  in  favor  of  an 
expected  heir  by  Maria  Christina,  should  the  child  prove  to  be  of  the 
female  sex.  Thus  it  was  that  when  on  October  10,  1830,  the  infanta 
Isabella  Louisa  was  born,  the  child  was  recognized  as  Ferdinand's 
successor  under  the  regency  of  the  queen-mother. 

After  the  king's  latest  matrimonial  alliance  he  visibly  failed  and 
lost  interest  in  everything.  His  queen,  however,  graciously  cared 
for  him,  and  yet  took  the  precaution,  in  moments  of  the  monarch's 
lucidity,  to  insist  that  whatever  rights  of  succession  Don  Carlos 
laid  claim  to,  and  was  sustained  in  by  the  crown's  subjects,  they 
should  not  invalidate  those  of  her  infant  daughter.  In  her  anxiety 
on  this  point,  she  even  made  personal  overtures  to  Don  Carlos, 
proposing  to  make  him  co-regent  on  her  husband's  death ;  but  this 
the  young  man  declined,  rather  than  bar  his  own  legitimate  and 
well-recognized  right  of  succession,  or  that  of  his  sons,  to  the  throne 
of  the  kingdom.  The  king  meanwhile  fell  into  a  state  of  imbecility, 
though  his  careful  spouse  scrupulously  exercised  for  him  most  of 


THE     CRITICAL     ERA  497 

1832-1836 

the  functions  of  royalty,  until  September  29,  1833,  when  the  end 
came,  and  Ferdinand  VII.  closed  his  earthly  career  in  what  for 
some  time  had  been  but  a  living  death. 

Immediately  there  was  a  Carlist  rising,  with  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  placing  the  late  king's  brother  on  the  throne.  The  clerical 
or,  as  it  was  called,  the  apostolic  party,  to  which  the  claimant  was 
allied,  was  especially  strong  in  Navarre,  the  Basque  provinces 
and  the  north,  and  at  once  proclaimed  Don  Carlos  king, 
with  the  title  of  Charles  V.  The  contention  against  Maria  Chris- 
tina as  regent  thus  set  civil  war  once  more  aflame  in  Spain,  and 
created  the  parties,  Carlists  and  Christinos,  which  with  their  re- 
spective adherents.  Catholics  and  Liberals,  kept  the  kingdom  for 
the  next  seven  years  in  an  acute  condition  of  rebellion.  At  the 
outset  the  Carlists  met  with  many  and  decided  successes,  owing  to 
the  military  skill  of  the  general  Zumalacarregui,  whom  Don 
Carlos  and  his  nephew,  Don  Miguel,  were  fortunate  enough  to 
enlist  in  their  cause.  On  the  other  hand,  the  regent  Christina  had 
the  advantage  of  being  at  the  seat  of  government,  where  she  had 
called  a  regency  council  to  her  aid,  and  which,  of  course,  favored  the 
infant  child  of  Ferdinand  and  the  constitutional  regime  against  the 
Carlists,  and  did  what  was  in  its  power  to  sustain  the  throne  against 
the  pretender  and  his  supporters.  In  April,  1834,  Christina  gained 
the  advantage  of  foreign  sympathy  in  her  straits,  in  the  Quadruple 
/Vlliance  of  that  year,  which  secured  to  Spain  the  moral  support  as 
well  as  the  diplomatic  services  of  England,  France,  and  Portugal. 
The  immediate  effect  of  this  was  the  expulsion  of  Don  Carlos 
from  Portugal  and  his  flight  to  England,  as  well  as  a  withdrawal 
from  the  conflict  of  Don  ^Miguel.  The  return  of  Don  Carlos  to 
Spain,  appearing  suddenly  in  Navarre  to  inspire  his  followers,  for 
a  time  improved  his  fortunes ;  but  after  the  siege  of  Bilbao,  where 
the  Carlist  general,  Zumalacarregui,  met  his  death  (June,  1835), 
the  Carlist  faction  became  despondent,  and  the  Christinos  were 
elated.  The  royalist  success  at  Bilbao  encouraged  the  queen- 
regent's  army  to  increased  vigor  in  the  war.  Shortly  afterwards 
General  Espartero  was  given  command  of  the  royalist  troops  and 
again  defeated  the  Carlists  in  a  sanguinary  encounter  at  Luchana. 
In  spite  of  losses,  and  a  disunion  in  the  Carlist  camp,  Don  Carlos 
marched  witli  the  forces  of  Cabrera  towards  Madrid,  but  was 
quickly  followed  by  Espartero  and  his  command,  and  was  compelled 
to  abandon  any  attack  on  the  capital. 


498  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1836-1840 

The  war  dragged  feebly  on  the  side  of  Charles  V.,  Espar- 
tero  inflicting,  in  1837-1838,  several  heavy  losses  on  the  Carlists, 
now  under  Guergue,  the  new  commander-in-chief,  shortly  after- 
wards supplanted  by  the  ruthless  and  cunning  Moroto.  The  latter, 
having  repeatedly  been  overmatched  by  Espartero,  now  basely  went 
over  with  his  army  to  the  royalist  side,  and  by  the  capitulation- 
convention  at  Vergara  (August,  1839)  secured  his  own  safety, 
and  with  an  amnesty  for  his  troops,  got  from  the  Christina  govern- 
ment a  provisional  appointment  in  Navarre,  with  oversight  of  the 
Basque  provinces.  In  the  defection  of  the  intriguer,  Moroto,  the 
cause  of  the  apostolic  party,  which  had  backed  the  Carlist  side,  suf- 
fered a  heavy  blow ;  while  it  also  suffered  from  rivalry  and  intrigues 
among  its  general  officers,  the  quarrels  among  whom  the  infatuated 
Don  Carlos,  with  his  papal  following,  was  incapable  of  repressing. 
But  for  this  internal  dissension  which  paralyzed  his  arms,  Carlos 
might  have  forced  his  way  into  Madrid,  and,  as  Charles  V.,  pos- 
sibly won  the  crown  by  deposing  the  queen-regent  and  her  mediocre 
government.  The  traitorous  surrender  at  Vergara  (sometimes 
called  Bergara)  and  the  treaty  between  Moroto  and  Espartero  were 
stunning  blows,  and  for  the  time  proved  fatal  to  the  Carlist  cause. 
Its  immediate  effect  was  disastrous  upon  its  chief,  and  temporarily 
brought  strife  to  a  close.  When  confronted  with  the  situation,  the 
pretender,  in  September,  1839,  weakly  abandoned  the  country,  and, 
with  a  part  of  his  following,  withdrew  into  France.  There,  under 
police  surveillance,  for  six  years  he  found  an  asylum  at  Bourges, 
after  which  he  resigned  his  claim  to  the  Spanish  throne  to  his  eldest 
son,  the  Duke  Montemolin,  and  with  the  permission  of  the  French 
authorities  retired  into  Italy,  where,  ten  years  later,  he  died  at 
Trieste,  March  10,  1855.  Meanwhile  his  following  in  Spain,  some 
10,000  in  number,  prosecuted  the  war  in  Catalonia  for  a  while, 
under  Cabrera;  but  meeting  only  defeat  by  the  royalist  Espartero 
and  his  forces,  they  too  in  July,  1840,  fled  across  the  French  fron- 
tier and  were  disarmed  and  dispersed.  This  brought  the  first  Carlist 
war  to  a  close. 


Chapter    XX 

LAST  YEARS  OF  MARIA  CHRISTINA,  AND  THE  ERA  OF 
QUEEN  ISABELLA  II.     1840-1868 

y4  FTER  seven  years  of  civil  strife  Spain's  political  as  well 
yLA      as  her  material  and  social  condition  was  at  a  low  ebb. 

-*-  -■^  Fighting  the  Carlists  had  caused  a  heavy  drain  upon  her 
impoverished  resources,  while  it  left  the  kingdom  and  its  people  in 
a  demoralized  state,  with  distraction  and  dissension  still  rife.  With 
the  regency  during  these  years  of  havoc  it  had  not  gone  well ; 
indeed,  government  on  any  smooth  and  effective  lines  had  hardly 
been  possible.  There  had  been  tumult  in  the  capital,  as  well  as 
elsewhere,  and  rioting  had  been  occasioned  no  less  by  political  dis- 
sension among  the  parties  and  the  people  than  by  the  general  turbu- 
lence of  the  times.  It  had  been  hard  to  extort  respect  for  the  consti- 
tution of  18 1 2  from  the  queen-regent  and  her  ministers,  so  the 
Progressists  had  enacted  in  1837  a  new,  or  rather  revised,  one,  and 
to  this  they  sought  to  compel  the  regent  and  her  advisers  to  sub- 
scribe and  conform,  though  with  indifferent  results.  In  the  case 
of  Maria  Christina  politically  she  proved  nothing  long,  at  times 
swaying  from  the  Liberal  to  the  Ultra-Conservative  and  Absolutist 
side,  and  from  botli  to  the  side  of  the  Moderates.  Like  many 
royal  women  in  Spain,  Christina,  moreover,  had  her  moments  of 
feminine  weakness,  bestowing  her  favor  particularly  on  a  young 
lifeguardsman  at  court,  named  Alunoz,  whom  she  appointed 
her  chamberlain,  and  with  whom  she  had  scandalous  relations,  al- 
though it  is  said  that  there  had  been  a  clandestine  marriage.  This 
injured  her  prestige,  while  it  increased  the  impatience  of  the  people 
with  the  constitutional  representative  under  whom  they  lived,  and 
made  them  righteously  angry  at  the  neglect  of  important  matters  of 
state  during  so  grave  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  In  tlie 
rising  indignation  against  her  and  her  so-called  husband,  and  also 
weary  of  the  circs  and  worries  of  her  position  in  the  troublous  times 
of  her  era.  Christina  contem])lated  resigning  the  regency,  and  with 
it  her  charge  of  tlie  young  Isabella.      This  design  she  now  speedily 

499 


500  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1840-1843 

put  in  execution,  and,  abdicating  her  high  post,  she  flitted  across 
the  frontier  into  France  October  12,  1840.  The  princess  Isabella, 
now  budding  into  womanhood,  was,  with  her  younger  sister,  con- 
signed to  the  protection  of  the  then  minister-president,  General 
Espartero,  who  for  his  successful  war  services  had  been  made  Duke 
of  Vittoria.  Upon  him,  in  the  following  May,  when  the  newly- 
elected  Cortes  had  assembled  at  Madrid,  were  placed  the  responsibil- 
ities and  cares  of  the  state,  of  which  he  had  now  become  regent. 
The  post,  under  the  circumstances,  was  an  onerous  one,  for  there 
still  existed  considerable  ferment  in  the  kingdom,  which  especially 
showed  itself  in  Barcelona  and  in  the  south,  while  even  the  capital 
was  again  threatened.  Moreover,  after  Christina  had  reached 
France  and  was  in  relations  with  Louis  Philippe,  political  incen- 
diaries began  to  give  Espartero  trouble,  and  he  retaliated  by  seek- 
ing an  ally  in  England,  which  brought  about  complications  at  home 
among  those  who  hastened  to  accuse  him  of  making  a  bargain  and 
sale  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  to  Britain.  Nor  was 
this  all  he  had  to  contend  against,  for  the  same  adverse  interests 
stirred  up  hostility  among  his  old  army  rivals,  the  chief  of  whom 
were  Generals  Narvaez  and  Prim.  In  1843  Narvaez,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  late  regent,  landed  at  Valencia,  and  at  the  head  of  a 
body  of  troops  marched  into  the  capital ;  while  Prim,  in  the  intrigues 
of  the  Progressists,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  old  soldiers  in 
Catalonia  who  had  fought  under  him  against  the  Carlists,  and  also 
threatened  to  overthrow  the  new  regent.  In  this  sea  of  trouble, 
and  amid  envious  and  politically  hostile  enemies  in  Madrid,  Es- 
partero, deeming  himself  alien  and  forsaken  as  well  as  in  peril  of 
his  life,  withdrew  to  Cadiz,  where  in  July,  1843,  ^""^  embarked  for 
England,  whence  he  did  not  return  until  after  the  lapse  of  five  years. 
Amid  this  further  storm  in  the  affairs  of  the  unhappy,  distracted 
country,  the  youthful  Isabella  was  declared  by  the  provisional  gov- 
ernment of  age,  although  but  thirteen,  and,  asserting  her  right  to 
the  throne,  took  upon  herself  the  rank  and  role  of  queen.  In  as- 
suming her  duties  she  finally  appointed  Narvaez  her  prime  minis- 
ter, but  only  after  other  experiments  had  been  made,  and,  creating 
him  Duke  of  Valencia,  recalled  her  mother  to  Spain. 

The  return  of  the  queen-mother  was  made  a  matter  of  state 
exultation  and  rejoicings  at  Madrid ;  and  there  rallied  to  greet  her 
many  of  the  old  grandees  of  the  kingdom,  with  numberless  royalist 
adherents  of  the  crown.     With  Christina's  return  from  exile  came 


MARIA    CHRISTINA  — ISABELLA    II.     501 

1843-1846 

her  husband,  Nunez,  now  Duke  of  Rianzares,  and  the  three  children 
(daughters)  whom  she  had  borne  to  him.  He  at  this  period  formed 
a  rather  embarrassing  element  in  the  ex-queen's  entourage,  and 
with  his  wife  shared  in  the  Absolutist  intrigues  of  the  court.  But 
this  personage  and  his  affairs  were  for  a  time  overshadowed  by  the 
high  excitement  occasioned  by  the  known  eagerness  of  the  queen- 
mother  to  find  suitable  husbands  for  Queen  Isabella  and  her  younger 
sister,  Louisa.  Christina  was  known  to  be  easily  influenced  by 
her  kinsman,  Louis  Philippe  of  France,  and  that  king  wished 
Isabella  to  marry  his  son,  the  accomplished  Due  d'Aumale,  so 
that  he  might  increase  his  influence  in  the  south  of  Europe,  and 
with  a  son  on  the  throne  of  Spain  make  the  Mediterranean  what 
he  desired,  "  a  French  lake."  This  assumption  of  Bourbonism  was, 
however,  looked  upon  coldly  by  England  and  the  courts  of  Europe, 
England  insisting  that  the  Cortes  should  decide,  as  the  Spanish 
constitution  required,  whom  Isabella  should  marry;  while  the 
Spanish  people,  racially  and  politically,  were  averse  to  the  notion 
of  a  French  alliance.  In  addition,  it  was  proposed  that  Louis 
Philippe's  second  son,  the  Due  de  Montpensier,  an  unobjectionable 
choice,  should  receive  the  hand  of  the  infanta  Louisa,  Christina's 
second  daughter  by  Ferdinand  VII.  The  English  and  continental 
bar  to  the  marriage  with  Due  d'Aumale  led  to  the  casting  about  for 
another  prospective  bridegroom,  and  among  the  choice  of  these 
were  a  son  of  Don  Carlos,  and  Don  Francisco  d'Assisi,  son  of  Fran- 
cisco di  Paula,  of  Naples.  The  latter  was  finally  pitched  upon, 
though  Isabella  herself  greatly  disliked  him,  owing  to  his  undis- 
tinguished and  even  insignificant  appearance;  but  in  spite  of  her 
aversion  and  the  shedding  of  many  tears,  she  was  compelled  to 
marry  him.  The  dual  nuptials  took  place  at  the  capital  October  lo, 
1846,  the  occasion  being  Queen  Isabella's  sixteenth  birthday.  The 
marriage  of  Donna  Louisa  with  the  Duke  of  IMontpensier  turned  out 
happily,  though  not  to  the  liking  of  the  Spanish  people,  the  groom 
having  to  be  conducted  to  Madrid  by  a  strong  body  of  troops,  to 
overawe  the  nation  in  its  hostility  to  the  French  alliance.  The 
queen's  match,  cruelly  enforced  by  her  designing  mother,  turned 
out  badly,  however,  for  Lsabella  loathed  Don  Francisco  d'Assisi, 
and,  child  as  slie  was,  without  any  scruples  exiled  him  after  marriage 
to  a  royal  residence  at  a  distance  from  Madrid. 

Well  would   it  have  been  for  the  morals  of  the  nation  had 
Queen  Isabella  contented  herself  with  thus  dcnving  her  affections 


502  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1847-1848 

their  legitimate  gratification.  Unfortunately,  in  the  ex-queen  she 
had  an  influence  most  hurtful.  The  result  was  not  long  in  showing 
itself,  for  Isabella,  throwing  womanly  decorum  with  all  discretion 
to  the  winds,  practically  banished  etiquette  from  the  court  and 
plunged  into  the  most  reckless,  and  even  abandoned,  gayety. 
She  openly  made  love  to  one  of  her  general  officers,  Serrano, 
said  to  have  been  at  the  period  the  handsomest  man  in  Spain, 
and  when  remonstrated  with  by  her  ministerial  counselors  she 
boldly  defied  their  attempted  restraints,  and  mocked  alike  their 
pleadings  and  their  censure.  To  the  administration  the  scandal 
of  the  C[ueen  and  her  court  was  a  grave  injury  as  well  as 
a  national  menace,  for  it  tended  to  enhance  the  feeling  of  disqui- 
etude and  insecurity  in  the  country  and  encouraged  renewed  plot- 
tings  among  the  Carlists,  ever  eager  to  embroil  the  nation  in  fur- 
ther uprisings.  The  period  was  the  stormy  year  of  1848,  a 
distracting  one  in  all  Europe,  when  the  virus  of  revolution 
was  actively  at  work  in  many  sections  of  the  continent,  and  had 
just  brought  about  the  dethronement  of  Louis  Philippe,  whose 
downfall  withdrew  one  of  the  props  of  the  Bourbon  throne  in 
Spain.  In  Austria  insurrection  drove  Ferdinand  I.  to  ab- 
dicate in  favor  of  Francis  Joseph ;  and  in  Prussia  the  demo- 
cratic fever  incited  a  rising  in  Berlin,  which  compelled  Frederick 
William  IV.  to  grant  the  kingdom  a  constitutional  government; 
while  Hungary,  under  the  leadership  of  Louis  Kossuth,  set  up  a 
republic;  and  Italy,  stirred  by  the  eloquence  of  Mazzini  and  other 
patriots,  rose  on  behalf  of  Italian  unity,  a  movement  which  put 
Victor  Emmanuel  II.  on  the  throne.  Even  the  pope  was  not  left 
in  the  quietude  and  repose  of  the  Vatican,  for  he  was  com- 
pelled temporarily  to  seek  refuge  in  Gaeta,  while  a  republic 
was  proclaimed  at  Rome.  In  steady-going  Britain  the  fall 
of  the  French  dynasty  and  the  retreat  of  Louis  Philippe  to 
her  shores  had  their  effects,  in  bringing  upon  the  nation  the 
impotent  Chartist  agitation  and  the  tumult  and  conspiracies 
of  the  young  Ireland  party,  under  Smith  O'Brien  and  his 
quondam  friends.  From  threatened  embroilment  in  the  Don 
Pacifico  matter,  and  his  extravagant  claim  against  the  Greek 
government,  Britain  also  speedily  relieved  herself,  though  the 
effects  of  the  insurrectionary  spirit  were  felt  for  a  considerable 
time  in  England,  as  well  as  throughout  almost  the  entire  European 
continent. 


MARIA    CHRISTINA  — ISABELLA    II.     503 

1847-1854 

Over  this  period  of  revolutionary  chaos  within  and  without 
the  kingdom  Isabella  II.  was  fortunate  enough  to  pass  for  the 
next  score  of  years,  though  not  without  further  trouble  in  Spain, 
including  the  revolution  of  1854,  besides  much  friction  in  the 
machinery  of  government.  For  a  time  Narvaez,  who  was 
prime  minister  when  the  queen's  marriage  took  place,  strove 
to  administer  the  interests  as  well  as  secure  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  the  country.  He  looked  frowningly  upon  Isa- 
bella's flagrant  indiscretions  at  court  with  her  favorite  gen- 
erals, and  endeavored  to  restrain  her  decided  leanings  towards 
absolutism  and  the  spiritual  authority  exercised  by  the  church. 
Meanwhile  the  son  of  Don  Carlos,  Count  de  Montemolin,  inspired 
by  the  Carlist  general  Cabrera,  at  the  time  residing  in  the  south 
of  France,  sanctioned  another  blow  being  struck  on  behalf  of  the 
Charles  V,  and  VI.  faction  for  the  crown  of  Spain.  Cabrera 
crossed  the  frontier,  and,  after  traversing  various  sections  of  the 
Peninsula  in  disguise,  feeling  the  insurrectionary  pulse  of  the  na- 
tion, noting  where  the  Carlist  sympathizers  were  in  force,  and 
levying  contributions  from  those  in  Catalonia,  once  more  collected 
a  force  in  that  province  antagonistic  to  Isabella  and  her  govern- 
ment. The  Carlist  cause  looked  for  help  in  France  from  a  friend 
of  the  younger  Don  Carlos.  This  was  his  companion  in  exile,  Louis 
Napoleon,  then  French  president,  and  at  the  time  about  to  precipitate 
the  coup  d'etat  of  185 1  and  restore  temporarily  the  French  empire. 
Neither  from  Napoleon  HI.  nor  the  inert  Count  de  Montemolin 
did  Cabrera,  however,  receive  practical  support,  and,  chagrined  at 
the  supineness  and  falling  away  of  his  Carlist  following,  the  guer- 
rilla chieftain  threw  up  his  command  and,  recrossing  the  frontier 
into  France,  took  refuge  in  England.  In  that  asylum  he  married 
a  rich  Englishwoman,  and,  for  a  while  in  Italy,  Cabrara  lived 
quietly  for  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Meanwhile,  a  new  rising, 
the  revolution  of  1854,  occurred  in  unhappy  Spain. 

At  this  juncture  in  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  Narvaez  had 
been  supplanted  in  the  premiership  and  his  place  was  taken  by 
Sartorius,  Count  de  San  Luis.  This  was  unfortunate  for  Spain, 
for  Narvaez  by  his  influence  and  energy  had  been  instrumental 
in  instituting  reforms  at  c(nu-t,  and  had  induced  Isabella  to  recall  her 
husband.  In  the  interval  between  the  downfall  of  Narvaez  and  tlie 
succession  as  chief  adviser  of  Sartorius.  a  number  of  ephemeral 
ministries  had  tried  their  hand  in  governing  the  nation;  but  against 


504  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1847-1854 

the  reactionary  character  of  Isabella  and  the  intrigues  of  Christina, 
the  queen-mother,  who,  with  King  Don  Francisco,  were  greatly 
under  the  clerical  influence,  a  rampant  republicanism  began  to 
manifest  itself  throughout  the  country,  with  threats  of  overthrowing 
the  dynasty.  The  inspirer  of  this  new  conspiracy  was  headed  by 
Marshal  O'Donnell,  afterwards  Duke  of  Tetuan,  who  had  fought 
against  the  Carlists  and  been  of  service  to  Christina  when  as  queen- 
regent  she  had  been  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  France.  Latterly 
this  personage  had  held  a  military  command  in  Spain,  and  pre- 
viously, for  a  time,  had  been  captain-general  in  the  disaffected 
Spanish  possession  of  Cuba.  He  was  now  in  opposition  to  the 
government  as  a  member  of  the  Senate;  and  when  the  Progressist 
General  Dulce,  who  held  command  in  Catalonia,  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  an  insurgent  force  designed  to  overthrow  the  tyrannous 
government  of  Isabella,  O'Donnell,  with  Generals  Messina  and 
Ros  de  Olano,  joined  him  in  a  revolt  which  speedily  assumed  such 
proportions  that  it  threatened  Madrid,  where  it  found  many  en- 
thusiastic anti-royal  sympathizers. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  the  queen  was  at  some 
little  distance  from  the  capital,  in  her  residence  at  the  Escurial, 
and  thither  news  of  the  rising  was  brought  her  by  her  chief  minister, 
Sartorius.  Isabella  hastened  to  Madrid,  only  to  learn  of  threatening 
revolts  in  other  chief  cities  of  the  kingdom.  From  the  capital  she  at 
once  dispatched  a  royalist  force  under  General  Blazer  to  check  the 
approach  of  the  insurgents.  At  Vicalvaro,  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  capital,  an  encounter  with  the  insurgents  was  exultantly  styled 
a  victory  by  General  Blazer,  and  in  the  belief  that  it  was  so  the 
queen  was  waited  on  by  her  royalist  friends  and  congratulated  on 
the  success  of  her  troops.  However,  the  revolt  was  a  more 
serious  matter  for  the  court  and  the  administration  than  was 
at  first  believed,  and  spread  in  many  hostile  quarters,  chiefly 
in  Catalonia,  Aragon,  and  the  Basque  provinces,  while  royal- 
ist regiments  shared  in  the  movement,  refused  to  serve  longer  under 
Blazer,  and  even  passed  to  the  insurgent  camp.  This  alarming 
condition  of  affairs  brought  about  the  resignation  of  Sartorius  and 
his  fellow-ministers,  and  a  new  cabinet  was  named,  with  General 
Cordova  as  president  of  the  council,  only  to  be  replaced  at  once  by 
the  appointment  of  the  Due  de  Rivas.  Aleantime,  Madrid  was 
given  up  to  rioting,  the  government  departments  were  entered  and 
sacked  by  mobs,  while  the  queen  was  menacingly  treated  by  crowds 


MARIA    CHRISTINA  — ISABELLA    II.     505 

1854 

of  infuriated  citizens  and  troops  who  broke  their  way  through 
the  royahst  guards  into  the  palace,  with  huzzas  for  O'Donnell  and 
liberty,  denunciations  against  San  Luis,  and  threats  of  death  "  to 
the  thief  Christina!"  A  junta  of  safety  and  defense  was  hastily 
improvised  in  the  capital,  under  San  Miguel,  a  brave  Spanish  gen- 
eral, who  assumed  its  presidency.  No  ministry  was  then  possible 
in  Madrid,  and,  affairs  continuing  to  wear  an  even  more  menacing 
attitude,  Isabella  summoned  her  old  general  and  statesman,  Espar- 
tero,  from  his  country  home  to  endeavor  to  quell  the  disturbance 
and  give  security  to  the  state.  In  spite  of  the  coming  of 
Espartero  and  O'Donnell,  both  now  friends  and  seriously  de- 
sirous of  restoring  the  kingdom  to  peace,  the  capital  continued 
in  a  turbulent  and  disaffected  mood,  which  specially  showed 
itself  in  hatred  towards  Christina,  the  queen-mother,  as  well 
as  towards  the  queen  and  her  now  helpless  government.  On 
all  sides  a  disposition  was  manifested  to  bring  Christina  to  trial  for 
malign  influence  at  court  and  her  personal  thievish  propensities. 
Though  Espartero  and  O'Donnell  felt  the  justice  of  the  popular 
clamor  against  Christina,  they  recognized  that  it  would  be  impolitic 
during  the  excitements  of  the  time  to  accede  to  the  demand; 
the  minister  gave  his  word  that  the  queen-mother  should  not 
escape  from  Madrid,  while  he  secretly  desired  for  himself  that  she 
should  be  expelled  from  the  kingdom.  Torn  by  conflicting  emo- 
tions, Espartero  finally  deemed  it  better  that  Christina  should  be 
suft'ered  to  escape  from  Spain ;  and  this,  towards  the  end  of  August 
(1854),  he  agreed  to,  Christina  surreptitiously  taking  flight  on  the 
way  to  Portugal,  leaving  Espartero  and  O'Donnell  to  make  their 
peace  with  the  angry  and  disappointed  ]\Iadrid  populace. 

This  lightening  of  the  cargo  of  royalty  from  the  ship  of  state 
was,  however,  not  all  thrit  the  convulsions  of  the  time  were  to 
bring  about  in  Spain.  The  fraternization  of  Espartero  and  O'Don- 
nell continued,  the  patriotic  and  Progressist  easily  falling  in  his  old- 
time  post  as  president  of  the  council  and  administrative  head  of  the 
state.  O'Donnell,  though  he  had  himself  been  actively  a  rebel, 
became  minister  of  war,  and,  with  his  passion  for  intrigue,  aspired  to 
play  the  role  of  lover  to  the  amorous  queen.  Meanwhile,  the 
expenses  of  the  nation  in  suppressing  (ir  tiding  over  these  periods 
of  revolution  added  to  tlie  waste  that  had  gone  on  under  previous 
shiftless  administrations,  and  the  national  finances  were  in  a  deplor- 
able condition.    Loans  had  hitherto  been  resorted  to,  but  these  could 


506  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1854-1857 

not  now  be  further  raised,  and  the  administration  had  either  to  admit 
insolvency,  or  resort  to  measures  of  an  illegal  or  otherwise  objection- 
able nature  to  raise  money.  Two  propositions  were  mooted  to  tide 
over  the  economic  crisis.  One  of  these  was  to  sell  Cuba,  whose 
afifairs  lately  had  been  going  from  bad  to  worse,  to  the  United  States ; 
but  Spanish  pride  revolted  against  this  and  put  it  out  of  considera- 
tion. The  other  proposal  was  to  lay  violent  hands  on  the  country's 
lands  held  in  mortmain,  including  the  personal  estates  of  ex-Queen 
Christina,  and,  appropriating  them  to  the  crown,  make  sale  of  them 
to  replenish  the  empty  exchequer.  The  latter,  under  pressure,  was 
the  proposition  decided  upon  and  authorized  by  the  Cortes,  and 
that,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  lands  were  not  only  unalienable, 
but,  in  many  instances,  were  those  which  had  been  bequeathed  to 
benevolent  institutions,  as  well  as  to  convents  and  other  clerical 
establishments.  To  this  measure  the  queen,  to  her  credit,  was 
earnestly  opposed,  while  it  greatly  exercised  the  court  that  the  lands 
should  be  thus  confiscated  and  dishonorably  disposed  of  by  the 
state.  The  arbitrary  proceeding  naturally  created  differences 
between  Isabella  and  her  chief  minister,  which  at  this  time  were 
further  complicated  by  a  lack  of  harmony  in  the  council  between 
the  minister  of  war  (O'Donnell)  and  the  minister  of  the  interior 
(Escosura).  The  end  of  the  trouble  was  fatal  to  all  three  ministers, 
whose  resignations  were  presently  accepted,  and  Narvaez  was  again 
sent  for  and  installed  as  head  of  a  new  administration.  Narvaez's 
first  act  was  to  comply  with  Isabella's  entreaty  to  revoke  the  mort- 
main lands  decree  and  restore  the  escheated  property  to  the  clerics, 
as  well  as  save  from  sale  and  spoliation  the  estates  owned  by  the 
queen-mother.  Though  the  desperate  needs  of  the  nation  were  not 
thus  provided  for,  the  restitution  of  the  church  and  other  posses- 
sions had  a  quieting  and  reassuring  effect  on  the  nation,  and  for 
the  time  being  the  Narvaez  administration  prospered,  while  there 
were  rejoicings  just  then  over  an  auspicious  event — the  birth,  in 
1857,  of  a  son  and  heir  to  the  king  and  queen,  in  the  babe  that 
afterwards  became  Alfonso  XII. 

While  these  events  were  occurring,  new  plots  were  being 
hatched  among  the  Carlist  princes  in  Paris,  incited  by  two  new 
adherents  of  the  faction,  Ortega  and  Morales,  the  former  of  whom, 
though  he  had  been  a  leader  in  the  Progressist  party  in  Spain,  had 
fallen  into  the  wiles  of  ex-Queen  Christina,  now  in  exile  in  the 
French  capital.     The  projected  new  rising  was,  of  course,  in  the 


MARIA    CHRISTINA  — ISABELLA    II.     507 

1359-1867 

interest  once  more  of  Don  Carlos  the  Second,  known  as  Count  de 
Montemolin,  and  commonly  spoken  of  as  Charles  VL  The  move- 
ment proved  abortive,  but  Ortega,  in  1859,  effected  a  landing  in 
Spain  and  marched  upon  the  city  of  Valencia  at  the  head  of  a  body 
of  3,500  troops,  accompanied  by  Count  de  Montemolin  and  his 
brother  Don  Fernando,  but  was  captured  and  shot  at  Tortosa.  At 
the  same  time  the  Carlist  chiefs  were  suffered  to  escape  from  the 
country,  while  the  soldiers  under  them,  not  being  aware  of  the  real 
object  of  the  invasion,  were  permitted  to  recross  the  frontier  or  were 
otherwise  dispersed.  Another  occurrence  at  the  period  was  a  brief 
war  with  Morocco,  whose  sultan  had  caused  Spanish  settlements 
across  the  straits  of  Gibraltar  to  be  attacked  and  despoiled.  At  its 
outbreak,  General  O'Donnell,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  was  sent  to 
invade  Morocco,  and  in  i860  won  the  battle  of  Tetuan  and  extorted 
by  treaty  indemnity  from  the  sultan.  In  the  following  year,  1861, 
Spain  joined  in  an  expedition  with  England  and  France  under 
Emperor  Louis  Napoleon,  against  Mexico,  to  exact  from  the  gov- 
ernment of  President  Juarez  payment  of  moneys  due  to  its  foreign 
creditors,  the  holders  of  Mexican  bonds,  with  reparation  for  wrongs 
done  to  their  subjects.  This  expedition  commanded  by  the  Spanish 
general  Prim,  duly  accomplished  its  object,  so  far  as  England  and 
Spain  were  concerned,  and  their  fleets  withdrew  and  recrossed  the 
Atlantic. 

The  French,  on  the  other  hand,  incited  by  the  fatuous  ambi- 
tion of  their  emperor,  remained  in  Mexico  with  the  design  of  set- 
ting up  a  Mexican  empire  in  place  of  the  republic,  to  be  ruled  by 
Joseph.  This  ill-fated  personage  was  brought  forward  by  the 
French  emperor  in  response  to  an  assembly  of  notables  in  Mexico, 
composed  of  opponents  of  the  Juarez  republic,  who  had  set  up  an 
imperial  form  of  government  and  asked  ]Maximilian  to  accept  an 
offer  of  the  throne.  He  reached  the  country  at  the  end  of  May, 
1864,  but  prosecuting  the  war,  with  the  aid  of  the  French  forces, 
the  Mexican  emperor  was  besieged  at  Queretaro  by  a  republican 
force,  was  compelled  to  surrender  in  May,  1867,  and  a  month  later 
he  was  condemned  by  a  court-martial  and  shot.  Tliis  cruel  act  was 
justified  by  the  court  that  tried  him  in  retaliation  for  a  like  fate 
meted  out  to  "  rel)els  "  against  his  authority. 

Meanwhile  the  United  States  government,  at  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War,  insisted  on  the  French  emperor  withdrawing  his  forces 
from  the  country,  while  it  refused  to  recognize  the  empire  liC  had 


;i 


508  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1867-1868 

caused  to  be  set  up  in  Mexico,  With  this  demand  Napoleon  III. 
was  compelled  to  comply,  and  the  French  troops  were  consequently 
withdrawn. 

After  these  occurrences,  though  the  Spanish  troops  were 
received  joyfully  on  their  return  from  Mexico,  events  in  Spain 
rapidly  culminated  in  trouble  to  the  queen's  government,  and  occa- 
sioned the  flight  of  Isabella,  with  her  immediate  entourage,  from 
the  kingdom.  The  cause  of  this  was  the  hostility  of  the  Republican 
party,  now  grown  in  strength  in  Spain  and  weary  of  the  unconsti- 
tutional regime  of  the  era,  together  with  the  intrigues  of  Sefior 
Olosaga,  its  leader,  who  had  associated  with  himself  General  Dulce, 
lately  returned  from  Cuba,  General  Prim,  who  had  just  come 
back  from  the  Mexican  expedition,  and  Field  Marshal  Ser- 
rano, now  Due  de  la  Torre.  In  the  new  conspiracy  the  navy 
of  Spain  had  been  induced  to  take  part,  under  Topete,  its  admiral, 
influenced  by  men  of  good  position  and  tried  patriotism,  who  were 
disgusted  with  Isabella's  reactionary  rule  under  the  Camarilla  which 
acted  for  her.  By  this  time  O'Donnell  and  Xarvaez  were  both 
dead,  and  the  queen's  present  administrator  was  Gonsalez  Bravo,  a 
poltroon,  who  on  the  hatching  of  the  conspiracy  at  Cadiz,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1868,  incontinently  ran  away.  W^ith  Bravo  there  acted  for 
the  moment,  in  the  interest  of  the  monarchy,  three  or  four  minor 
general  officers,  who,  on  discovering  that  the  mine  under  the  feet 
of  the  queen  was  about  to  be  fired,  made  a  show  of  meeting  the  new 
and  alarming  irruption  with  force.  But  the  plot  had  gone  too  far 
and  was  not  to  be  lightly  or  feebly  dealt  with.  Already  a  demon- 
stration had  taken  place  at  Cadiz,  which  was  joined  in  by  the  fleet. 
There  a  pronunciamento  was  issued  reciting  the  evils  the  country 
suffered  from  the  maladministration  and  corruption  of  every  de- 
partment of  the  government,  with  severe  reprobation  of  Isabella's 
own  conduct  in  her  relations  with  her  favorites,  whom  she  profusely 
decorated  and  elevated  to  high  rank.  The  queen,  at  this  juncture, 
of  course  with  a  new  lover,  an  opera  singer  who  had  been  raised  to 
the  peerage,  was  taking  the  salt  water  baths  at  San  Sebastian,  and 
there  news  was  speedily  brought  her  of  the  new  menace  to  herself 
and  her  dynasty.  A\'hen  the  revolutionary  leaders.  Prim,  Dulce, 
and  Serrano,  had  met  the  royalist  troops  at  the  battle  of  Alcolea 
Bridge,  and  there  the  latter  had  been  worsted,  the  queen  at  length 
realized  that  her  cause  was  lost.  In  her  extremity  she  yet  clung 
to  one  hope,  which  v/as  an  appeal  to  the  lunperor  Louis  Xapoleon, 


MARIA    CHRISTINA  — ISABELLA    II.     509 

1868-1878 

who  at  the  time,  with  the  Empress  Eugenie  and  the  French  court, 
was  at  Biarritz.  Thither  Isabella  in  person  clandestinely  proceeded 
in  October,  1868,  and  besought  French  intervention.  To  this  the 
emperor,  however,  refused  to  accede,  though  he  hospitably  offered 
an  asylum  in  France  to  the  practically  dethroned  queen,  as  well  as 
to  her  husband  and  their  children. 

These  events  blasted  the  hopes  of  Isabella  and  her  adherents, 
and  the  queen  did  not  see  Spain  for  the  space  of  nearly  seven  years. 
In  the  interval,  and  before  the  coming  of  her  son,  the  youthful  prince 
of  the  Asturias,  to  the  Spanish  throne  as  Alfonso  XII.,  her  unhappy 
country  was  to  see  a  new  monarch  assume  the  crown,  and,  finally, 
the  outbreak  of  the  third  Carlist  war,  with  its  attendant  scenes  of 
cruelty  and  violence,  ushering  in  what  promised  to  be  a  wholesome 
and  settled  era  of  hereditary  and  constitutional  monarchy.  Mean- 
while, the  insurrection  in  the  Peninsula  and  the  exile  of  Isabella  had 
their  sequel  in  Cuba,  for  the  next  ten  years  distracted  and  desolated 
by  rebellion.  A  temporary  peace  was  brought  about  in  1878  by 
the  compromise  of  El  Zaujou,  with  the  admittance,  futile,  however, 
for  its  better  government,  of  representative  deputies  in  the  Cortes 
at  Aladrid.  Futile,  indeed,  was  the  whole  of  the  new  era  in  Cuba, 
with  its  promise  of  representation  in  the  legislature  of  the  country's 
capital ;  the  home  government  so  manipulated  the  elections  that  the 
deputies  returned  to  the  Cortes  were,  in  the  main,  natives  of  Spain, 
and  not  of  the  island  col(3ny,  where  many  thousand  Peninsulars  had 
found  graves  in  tlie  vain  attempt  to  keep  its  badly  governed,  in- 
surgent population  in  subjection.  As  for  hope  of  peaceful  reform, 
or  any  relief  from  the  galling  rule  of  the  hated  motherland,  there 
was  none. 


Chapter    XXI 

THE   BRIEF  REIGN   OF  AMADEUS,  AND  THE   BOURBON 
RESTORATION.    1868-1910 

THE  reins  of  government,  nominally  held  by  Isabella  until 
her  flight  and  exile,  were  not  readily  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  new  ruler.  Those  called  upon  to  administer  the 
anarchic  affairs  of  Spain,  still  less  those  who  took  upon  them- 
selves periodically  to  plunge  the  kingdom  into  the  chaotic  depths 
of  revolution,  were  not  usually  given  to  circumspection  and  fore- 
sight. Who  was  to  replace  Isabella  on  the  throne,  or  as  the  repre- 
sentative head  of  the  state,  in  the  event  of  a  monarchy  or  a  republic 
ensuing,  was  a  matter  that  had,  as  yet,  received  but  little  thoughtful 
consideration.  Nor  in  the  party  differences  and  political  rivalries 
of  the  time  was  the  choice,  in  any  event,  likely  to  be  a  speedy  one, 
for  many  weighty  matters  had  first  to  be  considered  and  much  dis- 
sension calmed  ere  the  leaders,  with  any  degree  of  unanimity,  could 
determine  first  the  style  and  form  of  the  new  government  to  be 
called  into  existence,  and,  after  that,  the  no  less  important  question 
wdio  should  be  its  actual  or  nominal  head.  When  these  problems 
came  practically  to  be  argued  and  solved,  two  essentially  vital  mat- 
ters confronted  them,  namely :  First,  whether  or  no  the  leaders 
should  make  Spain  once  more  a  republic;  and  second,  if  the  mon- 
archy was  to  be  maintained,  in  what  quarter  should  they  look  for  a 
safe  and  otherwise  desirable  new  ruler.  On  the  first  question  the 
revolutionary  chiefs  seemed  to  incline  towards  the  perpetuation  of 
the  monarchy,  though  on  a  sound  constitutional  basis ;  the  second 
question  was  a  puzzling  one,  although  they  had  tacitly  decided  that 
the  new  king  should  not  be  a  Bourbon.  ]Meanwhi]e,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  make  arrangements  for  some  sort  of  provisional  government. 
A  number  of  good  men,  hitherto  prominent  in  public  affairs,  were 
selected  as  heads  of  the  departments  in  a  new  ministry  under 
Senor  Serrano,  who  was  elected  president  of  the  council.  Prim 
was  assigned  the  ministry  of  war ;  Topete  was  chosen  head  of  the 
navy.  Sagasta  became  minister  of  the  interior,  Zorilla  minister  of 
commerce,  Figuerola  minister  of  finance,  and  Lorenzana  minister 

510 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION         511 

1869 

of  foreign  affairs.  With  the  appointment  of  these  men  to  their 
respective  posts,  the  Cortes  was  summoned  in  1869,  and  a 
committee  of  fifteen  named  to  draft  a  new  constitution.  Agree- 
ment as  to  the  latter's  provisions  was  far  from  unanimous. 
It  introduced  some  features  unknown  to  the  older  ones,  such 
as  the  formation  of  a  senate  and  the  organization  of  a  council 
of  state  to  act  coordinately  w'ith  the  house  of  representatives,  and 
substituted  for  the  principle  of  legitimacy  in  the  person  who  came 
to  the  throne  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.  It  moreover  restored 
the  monarchical  form  of  government,  with  checks  in  the  way  of 
constitutional  control,  and  provision  for  securing  popular  rights 
and  the  freedom  of  conscience  in  matters  of  religion.  The  promul- 
gation of  the  new  constitution  did  not  evoke  much  public  criticism, 
nor,  on  the  other  hand,  was  it  received  with  any  degree  of  enthusi- 
asm. Until  a  sovereign  was  installed,  Serrano  was  named  regent, 
while  to  him  and  to  his  colleague.  Prim,  was  intrusted  the  unenvi- 
able duty  of  seeking  out  and  naming  a  likely  and  acceptable  future 
king. 

The  task  confided  to  the  discretion  of  Serrano  and  Prim  natu- 
rally and  immediately  brought  its  difficulties.  The  names  of  several 
high  personages  had  already  been  spoken  of,  and  the  canvass  of 
their  respective  possible  candidatures  was  entered  into  with  eager- 
ness, save  among  the  Republicans  in  the  Cortes  and  the  country, 
who,  though  the  distinguished  Castelar  was  an  influential  member 
of  the  party,  were  curtly  disregarded  and  left  out  of  consideration, 
the  nation  having  adhered  to  the  traditional  form  of  government  as 
a  monarchy.  Among  the  names  of  those  favorably  looked  upon  to 
fill  the  vacant  throne  were  the  Hohenzollern  Prince  Leopold,  a  rela- 
tive of  King  William  of  Prussia;  the  Due  de  Montpensier,  husband 
of  Isabella's  sister.  Dona  Louisa ;  Ferdinand  of  Portugal,  who  had 
just  resigned  the  regency  of  that  kingdom,  on  his  son's  (Pedro  V.) 
assuming  the  Portuguese  throne,  and  Amadeus,  Duke  of  Aosta. 
second  son  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  Of  these,  Prim's  favored  candi- 
date was  Prince  Leopold.  But  Napoleon  IIP  wrote  to  King  William 
tliat  if  he  encouraged  his  young  relative  in  accepting  the  offer 
made  to  liim  he  would  treat  it  as  a  cause  of  war  between  their 
two  crowns.  The  king  of  Prussia  spiritedly  resented  this  inter- 
ference of  France,  and  the  angry  "  notes  "  which  passed  between 
the  monarch s  were  the  proximate  causes  of  the  Franco-German  w\ar. 

Balked  as  Prim  was  in  his  king-hunt  in  this  direction,  Leopold's 


512  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1870-1871 

refusal  of  the  crown  was  well  both  for  himself  and  for  the  Spanish 
nation.  The  feeling  in  Spain  was  strong  against  a  foreigner,  while 
the  German  prince,  if  he  sought  to  do  his  duty,  would  not  have  been 
likely  to  find  a  traditionally  Bourbon  throne  a  bed  of  roses.  In 
the  discussion  of  other  possible  candidates  the  ex-regent  of  Portugal 
was  named,  only  to  be  rejected,  as  the  leaders  did  not  desire  any 
closer  union  with  the  joint  occupant  with  Spain  of  the  Iberian 
Peninsula.  The  Spanish  statesman,  Espartero,  also  received  consid- 
eration, as  he  deserved,  but  his  name  was  dropped  when  Prim  an- 
nounced to  the  Cortes  (November,  1870)  a  new  ministerial  candi- 
date, in  the  person  of  Amadeus  of  Italy,  who  in  the  ballot  that  was 
taken  was  indorsed  by  a  good  majority  in  the  house.  To  him 
overtures  were  made  and  Amadeus  at  last  rose  to  the  bait,  little 
tempting  as  he  was  ere  long  to  find  it,  with  an  impossible  people 
to  rule,  disaffected  against  a  Savoyard,  and  eaten  up  with  intrigue 
and  chronic  turbulence. 

The  coming  of  the  Duke  of  Aosta  to  the  throne  was  the  signal 
for  the  renewed  outbreak  of  faction,  whose  work,  in  spite  of  the 
large  vote  he  had  received  in  his  election  by  the  Cortes,  was  now 
to  show  itself  adverse  to  "  the  intrusive  king,"  as  he  was  called. 
Just  before  his  arrival  at  Madrid,  where  he  was  coldly  received,  the 
country  was  startled  by  the  foul  assassination  of  General  Prim  at 
the  capital.  Prim  had  been  pleased  at  the  choice  of  Amadeus, 
on  account  of  the  frank  manners  and  friendly  ways  of  the  new  mon- 
arch towards  the  common  people,  and  with  his  last  breath  had  re- 
signedly but  joyfully  cried :  "  I  am  dying — ^but  the  king  is  coming !  " 
In  spite  of  this  untoward  event  and  of  the  unknown  source  whence 
had  come  the  fatal  shots,  Amadeus  was  proclaimed  king  at  the  capital 
in  January,  1871,  and  took  his  thorny  seat  on  the  throne  of  Spain. 
Though  the  new  king's  character  was  irreproachable  and  his  bear- 
ing and  manner  of  life  considerate  and  kindly,  he  could  not  live 
down  the  hostility  against  him,  though  he  sought  to  placate  every- 
body, made  several  tours  of  unostentatious  state  through  various 
sections  of  the  kingdom,  and  paid  a  graceful  visit  to  the  veteran 
patriot  statesman,  Espartero,  by  whom  he  was  loyally  and  enthu- 
siastically welcomed. 

Zorilla,  at  this  period,  held  the  chief  post  in  the  administra- 
tion, but  there  was  no  stability  in  the  government,  and  the  Italian 
king  had  little  opportunity  to  govern  constitutionally,  or  even 
through  his  own  kindly  efforts  and  those  of  his  attractive  queen,  to 


I 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION         513 

1873 

win  a  hold  upon  the  affections  of  his  churlish  or  indifferent  subjects. 
Amadeus  therefore  proposed  to  abandon  the  throne  and  betook 
himself  with  his  belongings  out  of  the  country  in  February,  1873, 
only  two  years  after  his  accession.  Not  only  the  king's  life  had 
been  attempted,  but  the  queen  was  continually  insulted  by  the  wives 
of  the  grandees.  "  One  dissolution  of  parliament,  and  one  change 
of  cabinet  after  another,"  narrates  Professor  J,  W.  Harrison, 
"  had  failed  to  give  him  elements  homogeneous,  enlightened,  un- 
selfish, and  patriotic  enough  to  control  a  country  in  which  repub- 
licanism had  now  made  monstrous  strides.  '  Spain  for  the  Span- 
iards !  Out  with  the  Savoyard ! '  resounded  through  stranger- 
abhorring  Spain.  A  king  in  round  hat  and  white  pantaloons, 
simple  in  manners,  intolerant  of  hand-kissing  and  obsequiousness; 
a  queen  who  dared  to  give  birth  to  a  prince  without  having  the 
palace  illuminated;  an  impassive,  unemotional  royal  couple,  prom- 
enading almost  unattended  through  the  streets  of  Madrid;  match- 
less courage  and  simplicity ;  the  heartiest  desire  to  benefit  the  coun- 
try by  parliamentary  and  lawful  methods,  to  heal  its  incurable 
wounds,  to  reconcile  its  parties — all  these  things  contributed  to 
the  departure  of  the  king  and  queen  to  Portugal." 

Thus  ended  one  more  effort  to  rule  Spain  as  a  monarchy, 
and  with  worthy  material  to  contribute  to  its  welfare,  the  country 
neither  knew  nor  appreciated  the  fact.  Following  Amadeus's  ab- 
dication and  departure  was  the  establishment  for  a  brief  space  of 
a  hotly-clamored-for  but  freslily  distracted  republic,  which  in  Spain, 
as  it  has  been  aptly  said,  "  succeeds  the  monarchy  as  quickly  as  one 
sentinel  succeeds  another."  The  republic  was  tolerably  acquiesced 
in  by  the  country,  but  its  administration  encountered  the  difficulties 
which  ever  beset  the  unhappy,  discordant  nation,  including  a  third 
Carlist  war.  For  the  moment  Serrano  was  installed  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  but  he  had  presently  to  give  way  to  Pi  y  Margall  and  his 
few  weeks'  dictatorship.  ]Margall,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Sal- 
meron,  and  later  by  the  moderate  but  astute  republican  statesman, 
Emilio  Castelar.  Meanwhile,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1873  Don 
Carlos,  Duke  of  Madrid,  grandson  of  the  elder,  put  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  new  Carlist  rising,  and  with  an  army  invaded  the 
Basque  provinces.  With  him  came  his  brother  Don  Alfonso  and 
General  EHo,  who  was  appointed  Carlist  commander-in-chief, 
together  witli  a  good  fighting  officer  in  General  Dorregaray.  The 
Carlists  landed  in  the  P>ay  of  Biscay,  at  Portugalate,  near  Bilbao, 


514  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1873-1875 

then  besieged  in  the  republic's  cause  by  Velasco.  Hither  came 
Marshal  Serrano,  who  proceeded  to  attack  the  Carlists  in  the  moun- 
tain recesses  above  Bilbao;  while  Alanuel  Concha,  Marquis  of 
Duero,  invested  tliem  on  the  other  side;  and  Martinez  Campos 
and  a  portion  of  the  army  of  the  republic  succeeded  in  entering 
Bilbao  in  May,  1873.  After  this  Carlist  check,  Don  Carlos  fell 
back  on  Durango,  near  the  borders  of  Navarre,  with  Concha  in 
command,  for  Serrano  had  been  summoned  by  political  events 
in  the  capital  to  return  to  his  executive  post.  The  purpose  of 
the  republican  leaders  was  now  to  march  upon  Estella,  in  the 
interior,  the  heights  of  which  were  defended  by  strong  earthworks 
erected  by  the  Carlist  troops  under  General  Dorregaray.  While 
en  route  thither,  a  three  days'  battle  was  fought  at  Abazuza,  which 
went  ill  with  the  attacking  force,  and  Concha  was  killed.  After 
this  Carlist  victory  Concha  was  replaced  by  Zabala,  minister  of  war 
at  Madrid,  aided  by  General  Laserna,  and  after  desultory  fighting, 
Pampeluna,  in  Navarre,  fell  into  the  republic's  hands,  and  the  Carl- 
ists broke  up  into  guerrilla  bands  operating  in  Valencia,  Murcia. 
and  Granada.  Dorregaray,  their  commander,  resigned.  For  a 
time  Don  Carlos's  brother,  Don  Alfonso,  continued  to  hold  Cata- 
lonia, always  a  Carlist  stronghold;  but  ere  long,  falling  out  with 
Charles  VII. j  he  abandoned  his  cause,  withdrawing  to  France, 
and  thenca  making  his  way  into  Austria.  Meantime  Don  Carlos 
himself  had  met  repulse  at  Irun,  but  proceeded  to  lay  siege  to  St. 
Sebastian,  while  Dorregaray  returned  to  further  assist  the  Carlist 
cause,  whose  operations  were  now  marked  by  much  barbarity  and 
ferocity. 

While  the  war  was  being  prosecuted  a  new  surprise  fell  upon 
the  nation,  in  the  announcement  from  Madrid  that  Isabella's  son, 
the  prince  of  the  Asturias,  had  been  proclaimed  king  of  Spain, 
with  the  title  of  Alfonso  XII.  The  new  king's  entrance  into 
the  capital  and  accession  to  the  throne  occurred  in  the  middle 
of  January,  1875,  he  and  his  royal  escort  having  come  from 
Marseilles  earlier  in  the  month  by  way  of  Barcelona  and  Va- 
lencia. The  capital  took  kindly  to  the  resumption  of  monarchy, 
as  did  most  of  the  chief  cities,  and  manifested  little  regret 
at  the  fall  of  the  republic.  Serrano,  who  had  held  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive post  gave  his  adhesion  to  the  new  order  of  things, 
though  he  left  the  country.  The  king  took  as  his  first  adviser 
the  trusted  Canovas  del  Castillo,   a  man  of  eminent  ability  and 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION         515 

1875-1876 

prudence,  who  had  been  instrumental  in  paving"  Alfonso's  way  to 
the  crown.  Almost  immediately  after  Alfonso's  accession  and 
proclamation  as  king,  Martinez  Campos  and  other  monarchical 
chiefs  left  Madrid  for  the  army  of  the  north,  to  win  over  the 
troops  there  to  the  royalist  standard,  the  king  himself  following, 
with  the  design  of  proceeding  to  the  seat  of  war.  There  he  found 
that  the  army,  under  Jovellar,  had  already  sided  with  him  and  ac- 
cepted the  new  dynasty,  though  it  regarded  without  enthusiasm 
the  proclamation  to  the  soldiery  the  king  had  caused  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  them.  Don  Carlos  and  his  adherents,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  aflame  with  indignation,  and  proceeded  to  give  a  new  im- 
pulse to  the  war  and  to  continue  the  internecine  strife.  The 
royalists,  on  their  part,  hastened  to  revictual  and  strengthen  the 
garrison  of  Pampeluna,  then  besieged  by  a  Carlist  force;  while  the 
king  in  person,  with  a  division  of  the  army,  proceeded  to  attack 
Estella,  still  held  by  the  forces  of  Charles  VII.  To  intercept  this 
royalist  movement  Don  Carlos  advanced  to  meet  the  king  and  his 
forces,  and  an  affray  occurred  at  Lucar,  which  checked  further 
progress,  and  inckiced  the  royalist  generals  to  compel  the  king,  for 
his  safety,  to  return  to  Madrid.  This  he  did  about  the  middle  of 
February,  leaving  Quesada,  an  able  and  reliable  general,  to  prose- 
cute the  war,  while  Alfonso  reached  the  capital  in  safety. 

There  would  be  little  profit  to  the  reader  in  our  continuing  the 
record  of  the  war.  The  signs  of  its  speedy  termination  were  even 
now  visible,  for  the  two  Carlist  strongholds,  Estella  and  Seo  d'Urgel, 
capitulated;  while  Catalonia,  which  had  of  late  been  devasted  by 
bands  of  guerrillas,  was  in  large  measure  pacified,  thanks  to  the 
operations  of  Martinez  Campos  against  the  Carlist  General  Dor- 
regaray.  Even  the  former  Carlist  chieftain,  Cabrera,  who  had  taken 
no  part  in  the  present  rising,  gave  his  adhesion  to  Alfonso's  rule  and 
exhorted  his  old  comrades  to  refrain  from  further  figliting,  sue  for 
liberal  concessions,  and  end  the  civil  strife.  Along  the  banks  of 
the  Bidassoa  and  the  region  of  Biscay  the  Carlists  still  strove  to 
keep  the  royalist  forces  at  bay;  but  the  Pretender's  army  began  to 
melt  away,  and  Don  Carlos,  disheartened,  threw  up  his  cause  in 
Spain,  and  took  himself  out  of  the  country  in  the  spring  of  1876. 

The  IMadrid  <2'overnmcnt,  now  free  from  these  Carlist  risincfs, 
found  republican  sentiment  still  strong.  Criiliinality  in  the  extreme 
adlierents  of  the  party  occasionally  broke  forth,  and  was  manifested 
in  two  attempts  to  end  the  king's  life.     The  government  sought  to 


516  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1876-1885 

secure  peace  with  a  measure  of  substantial  progress  in  poor  Spain. 
It  first,  however,  visited  upon  Navarre  and  the  Basque  provinces 
the  consequences  of  periodic  insurrection  by  withdrawing  into  the 
hands  of  the  general  government  its  provincial  and  local  municipal 
privileges,  which  abolished  the  old  kingdom  of  Navarre  and  made 
for  increased  national  unity.  This,  naturally,  was  not  to  their 
liking;  hardly  less  so  was  the  compulsion  to  contribute  to  the  war 
and  general  expenses  of  the  nation,  at  this  period  in  sore  need,  with 
an  empty  treasury  and  a  country  devastated  by  these  risings  in 
the  north.  On  the  whole,  however,  Alfonso  XII.'s  administration 
acted  wisely  in  adopting  conciliatory  measures  with  the  districts 
and  parties  lately  in  revolt;  and  under  Castillo's  competent  direc- 
tion the  country  ere  long  showed  signs  of  quickened  development 
as  well  as  substantial  progress  upon  the  return  of  peace.  In  the 
capable  and  comparatively  honest  hands  of  the  new  Madrid  cabi- 
net state  bankruptcy  was  at  the  same  time  averted  by  unifying 
the  public  debt,  and  by  reducing  the  annual  expenditures  and 
improving  the  political  and  moral  character  of  the  national  admin- 
istration. 

Neither  internal  peace  nor  a  millennial  reformation  in  the 
government  of  Spain,  however,  quite  followed.  Misrule  and  dis- 
affection in  her  possessions  abroad  were  more  or  less  constantly 
present.  Cuba,  though  the  Ten  Years'  war  (1868-1878)  had  been 
brought  to  a  close,  continued  unquiet  as  well  as  unprogressive ; 
while,  soon  after,  administrative  abuses  gave  rise  in  the  Caroline 
Islands  to  a  revolt  among  the  natives.  Renewed  hostilities  broke 
out  in  Catalonia,  which  made  a- demand  upon  martial  law  for 
repression. 

Opposition  also  arose  to  the  Canovas  ministry,  on  the  part 
of  the  liberal  leaders  loyal  to  the  dynasty,  the  result  of  which  w^as 
the  overthrow  of  the  administration  and  the  formation  of  a  new 
one,  led  by  Sagasta,  in  September,  1881.  Bad  harvests,  disastrous 
floods,  strikes  among  factory  hands,  discontent  in  the  army  over 
the  renewed  resort  to  conscription,  followed  by  the  spread  of 
Socialism,  together  with  an  outbreak  of  cholera  in  Murcia,  brought 
on  the  kingdom  more  or  less  trouble,  with  increased  anxiety  to 
the  administration.  In  the  midst  of  these  depressions,  and  to  add 
to  them,  came  the  early  death  (November.  1885)  of  the  king,  due 
to  the  inroads  of  consumption  on  a  system  at  the  time  enfeebled  by 
an  attack  of  dysentery.     His  royal  widow  was  appointed  regent. 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION         517 

1886-1897 

and  a  new  administration,  the  Liberal  ministry  of  Sagasta,  was 
formed;  while,  after  a  general  election,  the  Cortes  was  summoned 
and  assembled.  In  May,  1886,  Maria  Christina,  the  queen-regent, 
gave  birth  to  a  posthumous  son,  the  present  Alfonso  XIII.  The 
sympathy  of  the  nation  for  the  queen,  in  spite  of  her  foreign  birth, 
was  by  this  circumstance  aroused  in  her  favor;  while  her  own 
estimable  character,  gentleness,  tact,  and  dignity,  added  to  her 
devout  life  and  known  charitable  disposition,  enabled  her  to  endear 
herself,  as  she  desired  to  do,  to  all  classes  of  the  Spanish  people. 

Alfonso  XIII.,  as  the  constitution  directs,  succeeded  by  his 
birth  to  the  throne,  and  of  course  over  his  sisters,  Maria  Chris- 
tina having  at  the  same  time  taken  the  oath  of  office  as  queen- 
regent  during  her  son's  minority.  The  constitution  of  1876  was 
in  1886  maintained,  and  it  and  its  provisions  are  to-day 
still  in  force.  The  executive  is  vested,  under  the  reigning 
severeign  and  queen-regent,  in  a  council  of  ministers,  over 
which  the  premier,  as  president  of  the  body,  presides,  with 
departmental  heads  of  justice,  finance,  war,  marine,  education, 
the  interior,  foreign  affairs  and  agriculture,  with  which  are 
grouped  commerce  and  public  works.  The  Cortes,  by  the  last 
constitution,  consists  of  two  bodies,  the  Senate  and  Congress,  with 
coordinate  authority.  Government  under  the  queen-regent  had 
as  heretofore  its  difficulties,  arising,  in  part,  from  the  contentions 
of  its  various  conspiring  parties  in  the  state.  These  at  this  period 
were  the  Conservatives,  under  Canovas ;  the  Liberals,  under  Sa- 
gasta; the  Unionist  Republicans,  under  Margall ;  and  the  remains 
of  the  Carlist  party,  represented  by  the  Marquis  de  Cerralbo.  The 
chief  of  these  warring  sections,  the  Liberal  party,  was  for  a  time 
in  contention  with  tlie  Ultramontanes,  who,  true  to  their  tradi- 
tions, sought  increased  power  for  the  church.  This  the  Liberals 
withstood,  in  the  interest  of  liberty  and  toleration,  with  freedom 
of  worship.  The  religious  aspect  of  the  country  is,  nevertheless, 
far  frcmi  gratifying,  as  there  is  much  indifference  shown  to 
religion  and  church  services.  The  middle  and  upper  classes  have 
largely  broken  away  from  the  old  faith,  while  the  peasant  class  is, 
if  not  wholly  irreligious,  sunk  in  su})erstition.  lulucation  does  not 
make  much  progress.  Out  of  a  population,  in  1897,  of  eighteen 
and  a  quarter  millions,  as  many  as  two-thirds  could  neither  read 
nor  write. 

The    administration,    for   a    time   alternately   under    Canovas 


518  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1868-1897 

and  Sagasta,  had  its  own  perplexities,  arising  from  the  condition 
of  the  finances  and  the  state  of  things  in  the  distracted  island  of 
Cuba.  I'he  financial  straits  of  the  parent  country  were  temporarily 
relieved  by  the  state  procuring  large  loans  from  the  Bank  of  Spain, 
which  had  been  empowered  by  the  government  vastly  to  increase 
its  note  issue;  while  it  also  obtained  funds  from  the  sale  of  gov- 
ernment bonds. 

Among  the  younger  politicians  of  eminence  in  Spain  was 
Emilio  Castelar,  a  literary  man  as  well  as  a  parliamentarian  and 
orator.  This  liberal-minded  and  able  statesman,  though  early  in 
his  career  a  republican  in  sympathies,  declared  himself  loyal  to 
the  present  dynasty.  When  Maria  Christina  became  a  widow, 
and  later  on  regent  for  her  son,  Castelar  did  her  cause  good 
service  by  counseling  loyalty  to  her  government,  using  in  a 
speech  on  a  notable  occasion  the  phrase :  "  Spaniards  cannot 
fight  against  a  woman  or  against  a  child  in  his  cradle."  His 
interest  in  Spain's  national  affairs  was  always  an  enlightened 
and  patriotic  one,  and,  with  his  confreres,  in  the  years  1868- 
1874,  among  the  younger  men  rising  to  leadership  in  the  nation, 
he  replaced  with  acceptance  those  who  were  passing  away,  or 
those  who,  since  Castelar's  period  of  activity  in  the  Cortes  and  as 
president  for  a  time  of  the  Executive,  came  to  an  untimely  end  by 
assassination.  The  same  fate  overtook  Canovas  del  Castillo  in 
1897,  the  veteran  statesman  falling  a  victim  to  the  vengeance  of 
conspirators  wdio  had  been  concerned  in  anarchic  plots  in  Barcelona 
and  elsewhere,  and  which  the  premier  had  found  it  expedient  to 
suppress  with  a  heavy  hand.  Bomb-thrownng  and  dynamite  plots 
tormented  the  reforming  soul  of  Sagasta  after  the  proclamation  of 
Alfonso  XIII.  as  king  under  the  regency;  while  a  new  insurrection 
broke  out  among  some  of  the  troops  in  Madrid,  in  which,  it  is 
affirmed,  10,000  banditti  and  other  seditious  persons  were  impli- 
cated. Concealed  explosives  were  found  under  the  legislative 
chamber  at  the  capital,  and  stern  measures  were  necessary  to  offset 
the  sedition  and  evil  turbulence  of  the  period,  and  made  slow 
in  their  ameliorating  operation  the  government's  measures  of 
reform. 

Castelar,  for  many  years,  and  until  his  lamented  death  in 
1895,  took  no  active  part  in  politics,  but  devoted  himself  to  a 
literary  life,  while  the  honorable  and  aged  Sagasta  sei-ved  the  state 
as  adviser  and  chief  executive  in  the  ministry  of  the  young  king 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION  519 

1810-1338 

and  his  mother.  Meanwhile,  long  and  strenuous  efforts  had  been 
made  by  each  dependency  in  the  New  World  to  sunder  the  bonds 
that  fettered  it  to  the  parent  state.  Reactionary  methods  of  colonial 
government  estranged  the  dependencies  and  drove  them,  again  and 
again,  to  rebellion.  When  the  national  government  was  overthrown 
by  Napoleon  after  the  French  Revolution,  in  1810,  he  set  his  brother 
Joseph  for  a  time  on  the  Spanish  throne.  At  this  period  Mexico 
began  to  slip  from  Spain's  grasp,  a  revolution  having  been  begun  in 
New  Spain,  as  it  was  called,  by  Hidalgo,  the  first  leader  of  the 
Mexican  War  for  Independence.  Hidalgo  was  defeated  by  the 
Spanish  general,  Calleja,  and  later  had  to  fly  from  the  country, 
but  was  captured  and  shot.  ]\Iexico  passed  through  many  trials, 
lost  Texas  by  secession,  and  had  wars  with  the  United  States  and 
with  France,  but  ultimately  gained  independence  and  became  a 
republic. 

Chile,  in  1810,  also  separated  herself  from  Spanish  dominion, 
and  in  1818  declared  her  independence;  followed  by  Peru 
in  1820,  which  proclaimed  her  autonomy  and  won  self-government 
after  the  battle  of  Agacucho,  in  1824.  This  country  had  once  more 
to  fight  the  motherland  in  1865- 1866,  and  engaged  in  a  war  with 
Chile  in  1879.  In  spite  of  these  embroilments  and  sundry  out- 
breaks of  revolution,  together  with  devastation  by  earthquakes, 
the  republic  has  succeeded  in  overthrowing  the  Spanish  viceroyalty 
in  South  America.  Though  more  fortunate  than  Spain,  and  much 
less  chargeable  with  criminal  folly  in  the  rule  of  her  South  American 
dependencies,  Portugal  also  had  to  withdraw  from  the  Xew  World, 
her  old-time  colony  and  later  empire  of  Brazil  finally  establishing 
an  independent  republic  in  1889,  when  the  imperial  family  was 
compelled  to  leave  the  country  which  in  the  Napoleonic  era  had 
provided  a  refuge  for  the  reigning  dynasty. 

In  the  West  Indies  the  island  of  Cuba  had  for  decades  been 
the  scene  of  Spanish  misrule.  Under  General  Weyler  the  atrocities 
roused  popular  sympathy  in  the  United  States,  and  even  after  the 
recall  of  Weyler,  at  the  instigation  of  tlie  noble  Sagasta,  that 
country  continued  alert  to  the  condition  of  its  island  neighbor.  In 
February,  1898,  tlie  United  States  cruiser  Maine,  in  harbor  at 
Havana,  was  blown  up.  The  finding  of  the  commission  of  inquiry 
could  not  establish  Spain's  oftlcial  rcs])onsibi]ity  for  the  Maine 
disaster,  but  a  storm  of  indignation  broke  over  tlie  country,  de- 
manding the  evacuation  of  the  Spaniards  from  Cuba.     War  was 


520  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1898-1899 

declared.  The  continental  powers  looked  on,  and  while  admitting 
the  two  countries  were  unequally  matched  in  point  of  resources, 
it  was  considered  that  Spain's  strength  would  show  to  advantage 
over  the  Americans  in  her  efficient  and  strongly  disciplined  navy. 
But  May  i,  under  Admiral  Dewey  in  Manila  Bay,  the  Americans 
totally  destroyed  two  fleets  of  Admiral  Montojo,  and  nearer  the 
cause  of  the  conflict,  at  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Rear  Admiral  Cervera 
was  defeated  by  the  American  Sampson.  American  land  forces 
were  no  less  successful  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  Cuba.  Parleys 
of  coming  peace  were  already  current,  when  General  Miles  pro- 
ceeded on  Porto  Rico.  August  i  brought  definite  news  of  the 
close  of  the  war,  one  hundred  and  thirteen  days  from  its  beginning. 
Spain  only  yielded  to  the  inevitable.  Her  army  had  been  practi- 
cally annihilated  and  her  national  debt  increased  $300,000,000  by 
the  expense  of  the  war.  Moreover,  she  was  forced  to  assume  the 
Cuban  and  Philippine  debts,  making  an  additional  $231,050,000. 

The  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Paris  on  December  10,  1898. 
Spain  relinquished  her  sovereignty  in  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  the 
Philippine  Islands.  The  humiliation  over  this  compulsory  terri- 
torial abandonment  was  great,  as  evidenced  in  the  Peninsula  by 
a  deep  sullenness  among  the  people,  and  here  and  there  by 
angry  riotings.  Her  serious  plight  might  well  awaken  emotions  of 
pity,  since  her  condition  was  most  pathetic,  in  view  of  the  disasters 
that  had  befallen  her,  aggravated  by  her  wrecked  financial  credit,  the 
pohtical  strifes,  dynastic  plottings,  industrial  revolts,  and  general 
discontent  among  her  subjects.  From  a  calmer  standpoint,  how- 
ever, she  was  the  gainer,  in  being  relieved  of  her  turbulent  colonies, 
which  had  not  only  drained  her  resources,  but  distracted  the  mind 
and  energies  of  the  kingdom  in  vain  efforts  to  rule  them.  This 
w^as  the  view  of  her  best  friends,  and  her  own  dispassionate  states- 
men admitted  that  what  had  happened  was  really  her  national 
salvation. 

But  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  unpopular  nevertheless,  and 
the  military  party  made  them  an  issue  and  succeeded  in  deposing 
Sagasta  and  his  liberal  regime.  Silvela  with  a  conservative  min- 
istry, representing  the  modern  Consei^vative  party,  took  over  the 
reins  of  government  in  1899.  Financial  reforms,  effected  by  Villa- 
verdi,  and  tlie  sale  of  tlie  Caroline  Islands  to  Germany  for  $4,000,- 
000,  were  the  important  acccMiiplishments  of  the  new  ministry,  and 
fortunately  both  had  favorable  bearing  on  the  national  exchequer. 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION         521 

1900-1903 

In  October  of  the  following  year  Silvela's  cabinet  was  succeeded 
by  a  new  conservative  administration  of  the  military  party,  with 
General  Azcarraga  at  its  head. 

Meanwhile  a  more  modern  spirit  was  at  work  leavening  the 
Peninsula.  In  November,  1900,  the  efforts  of  the  Sociad  Union 
Ibero-Americana  resulted  in  a  congress  of  the  Spanish  American 
States,  which  met  in  Madrid  for  the  single  purpose  of  bringing  into 
greater  harmony  the  relations  with  the  mother  country.  The  liberal 
spirit  marked  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century.  Sagasta  returned 
into  power,  and  the  queen  in  opening  the  Cortes  referred  to  the 
necessity  for  the  social  reorganization  of  the  country.  The  new 
government  was  marked  by  strictness  and  severity  toward  the 
religious  orders,  so  numerous  and  so  influential  throughout  the 
country.  Efforts  were  made  looking  to  a  reduction  in  the  church 
estimate,  about  41,000,000  pesetas  yearly,  which  by  the  constitu- 
tion goes  to  support  the  clergy  and  buildings  of  the  church.  By  a 
special  enactment  the  registration  of  the  orders  was  required,  pre- 
liminary to  their  general  investigation,  and  in  many  w^ays  a  stern- 
ness new  to  Spain  marked  the  attitude  of  the  government. 

On  May  17,  1902,  the  young  prince  was  declared  of  age  and 
was  crowned  as  Alfonso  XIII.,  King  of  Spain.  Thus  the  regency 
came  to  an  end,  but  Sagasta,  much  against  his  will,  continued  in 
office.  In  December,  1902.  he  gave  way  before  Silvela,  and  in  the 
following  year  he  died.  Silvela's  brief  return  to  power  was  marked 
by  little  of  importance  except  for  the  treaties  of  arbitration  con- 
cluded with  the  countries  of  South  America,  in  which,  however, 
Chile  was  not  included.  Another  year  brought  another  new  cabinet, 
headed  by  Villaverdi. 

In  the  general  election  of  1903  ^Madrid  itself  was  swept  by  the 
Republicans,  and  the  jiarty  made  strong  headway  during  the  year 
under  the  leadership  of  Salmeron.  Resistance  to  the  Jesuits  and 
the  Vatican  more  and  more  characterized  its  policy.  In  July,  1903, 
Villaverdi  formed  a  new  administration.  In  December  of  the  same 
year  Maura  became  premier  of  this  (to  use  the  phrase  of  the  Paris 
correspondent  of  the  Times)  "  most  reactionary  government  that 
Spain  has  tolerated  since  the  Restoration."  At  the  same  time 
another  new  faction,  tlic  Democratic  Liberal  Party,  came  into  ex- 
istence. Maura's  cabinet  fell  twelve  months  later,  and  the  admin- 
istration of  General  Azcarraga  again  succeeded,  only  to  fall  in  a 
few    weeks,   when   X'illavcrdi,   with   a   new   ministry,    returned   to 


622  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1905-1910 

power.     In  June  Villaverdi's  administration  was  defeated  in  the 
Cortes,  and  the  Liberals,  under  Montero  Rios,  took  office. 

This  year,  h'ke  its  predecessors,  so  fraught  with  political 
changes,  brought  hardships  in  the  provinces,  and  Andalusia  and 
Aragon  suffered  from  agricultural  depression  and  lack  of  employ- 
ment for  the  people.  A  royal  decree  set  aside  $2,500,000  for  relief, 
but  this  proved  vastly  inadequate,  and,  to  the  despair  of  the  minister 
of  finance,  who  resigned  forthwith,  the  government  appealed  to  the 
Cortes  for  an  additional  $7,500,000  for  aid  and  for  construction  of 
public  works.  In  December,  1905,  the  cabinet  resigned,  and  Moret 
was  instructed  to  form  a  new  ministry.  This  ministry  remained  in 
office  until  June  7,  1906. 

Meanwhile,  the  marriage  of  the  young  king  to  the  Princess 
Ena  of  Battenberg  on  May  31,  1906,  took  first  rank  in  the  interest 
of  the  people.  The  fact  that  the  young  queen,  now  known  as  Vic- 
toria, was  the  niece  of  Edward  VII.,  King  of  England,  was  particu- 
larly significant,  as  the  alliance  marked  the  first  union  of  the  royal 
houses  of  Spain  and  England  in  over  three  hundred  years. 

In  1906,  several  questions  raised  by  the  King's  speech  to  the 
Cortes,  three  years  before,  were  taken  up.  A  bill  was  passed  giving 
offenses  against  the  army  and  national  unity  to  the  military 
rather  than  to  the  civil  courts.  The  separation  of  church  and  state 
was  discussed,  but  after  a  succession  of  three  anti-clerical  minis- 
tries during  the  months  of  January  and  February,  1907,  the  Con- 
servatives under  Senor  Maura  came  into  power  and  the  Law  of 
Association,  which  had  been  intended  to  check  the  immigration  of 
the  clerical  orders  recently  expelled  from  France,  failed  to  pass. 
The  Conservatives  also  carried  the  general  elections  on  April 
21,  1907. 

For  a  number  of  years,  Spain  had  been  troubled  with  anarchis- 
tic plots,  of  which  Barcelona  was  always  the  center.  In  1907, 
seventeen  bomb  explosions  took  place  there,  killing  five 
persons  and  wounding  eighteen.  At  the  beginning  of  the  next 
year,  anarchistic  attempts  seemed  to  be  on  the  increase,  and  on 
January  26  the  minister  of  justice  introduced  into  the  senate  a  bill, 
known  as  the  Terrorist  Bill,  dealing  with  anarchistic  agitation. 
It  empowered  the  government  to  suppress  summarily  anarchistic 
journals  and  clubs,  to  close  houses  used  as  meeting  places  by  sus- 
pects, and  to  banish  anyone  who  in  speech  or  writing  advocated  doc- 
trines destructive  of  the  social  order.  It  also  enabled  the  government 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION     522a 

1907-1910 

to  place  any  district  under  martial  law  and  forbade  the  printing  of 
any  unofiicial  news  in  regard  to  anarchistic  crimes.  These  meas- 
ures called  forth  a  great  deal  of  opposition,  both  in  the  Cortes 
and  among  the  public.  The  bill  was  finally  put  through  the  Sen- 
ate, but  was  held  up  in  the  Chamber,  which  later  decided  to  sus- 
pend its  report  and  to  adjourn  sine  die.  In  this  same  meeting  of 
the  Cortes  the  government  attempted  to  pass  a  bill  for  local  adminis- 
tration. A  vigorous  campaign  against  it  was  carried  on  by  the 
Socialists,  and  it  also  failed  to  pass. 

While  terrorism  was  at  its  height  in  Barcelona,  the  king  de- 
termined to  visit  the  city  on  the  occasion  of  the  arrival  of  an  Aus- 
trian squadron,  and  he  accordingly  entered  Barcelona  on  March 
lo.  Pie  was  received  cordially,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  the  revo- 
lutionary disturbance. 

In  March  was  issued  a  decree  which  for  the  first  time  in  Span- 
ish law  placed  a  limitation  on  the  employment  of  women  in  certain 
industries.  The  law  applies  to  all  children  under  sixteen  years  of 
age  and  to  all  women  under  twenty-five.  Chemical  works,  match 
factories,  type  foundries,  glass  and  lead  works,  and  slaughter 
houses  are  forbidden  to  these  workers. 

On  April  14,  1909,  the  Minister  of  Finance  introduced  into 
the  Cortes  a  bill  authorizing  the  issue  of  a  four  per  cent,  loan  of 
$200,000,000,  declaring  that  the  funds  so  provided  should  be  devoted 
to  public  works,  such  as  colonization,  reforestation,  irrigation,  and 
the  construction  of  canals,  bridges,  highways,  and  public  buildings. 

On  June  22,  1909,  the  queen  gave  birth  to  a  daughter,  the 
Princess  Beatrice;  this  was  the  third  child  of  the  royal  couple, 
the  older  two  both  being  boys — Alphonso,  the  Prince  of  the  Asturias, 
born  May  10,  1907,  and  Prince  Jamie,  born  June  2;^,  1908.  On  July 
18,  1909,  Don  Carlos  de  Bourbon,  Duke  of  Madrid  and  pretender  to 
the  Spanish  throne,  died  at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  As  the  head  of 
the  Bourbon  family,  he  was  also  the  first  in  direct  succession  to 
the  throne  of  France  should  the  French  monarchy  have  been  re- 
stored. Upon  his  death  his  son,  Don  Jamie  de  Bourbon,  born  June 
27,  1870,  succeeded  to  all  his  claims.  Don  Jamie  had  been  for 
some  years  an  officer  in  the  Russian  army,  but  had  lived  most  of 
the  time  in  Paris.  Owing  to  a  French  law  imposing  perpetual 
exile  upon  the  recognized  head  of  any  family  that  has  been  on  the 
throne  of  France,  he  could  no  longer  dwell  in  France. 

Early  in  July,  1909,  a  party  of  Spanish  workmen  were  repair- 


522b  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1908-1910 

ing  a  bridge  near  the  city  of  Melilla,  on  the  Mediterranean  shore 
of  Morocco,  when  they  were  attacked  by  some  natives,  and  several 
of  the  Spaniards  were  killed.  The  Spanish  governor,  with  a  force 
of  regular  troops,  defeated  the  Moroccans  in  a  spirited  engage- 
ment, but  was  forced  to  retreat.  The  weakness  of  the  Spanish 
forces  in  this  district  was  thus  revealed,  and  General  Marina  was 
sent  to  take  charge  of  all  the  Spanish  forces  in  Morocco  and  to 
head  a  punitive  expedition.  Upon  this  move  of  the  Spaniards,  the 
natives,  to  the  number  of  50,000,  took  up  arms  and  attacked  all 
the  Spanish  outposts.  Early  in  August,  General  Marina  asked  for 
additional  forces  amounting  to  40,000  men.  The  ordering  of  these 
troops  for  service  in  M'orrocco  immediately  precipitated  popular 
uprisings  throughout  Spain  and  particularly  in  the  province  of 
Catalonia.  For  several  da3^s  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  riot,  pillage, 
murder,  and  outrage  ruled  Barcelona  until  on  July  26  martial  law 
was  declared.  Two  days  later  martial  law  was  declared  over  the 
entire  kingdom. 

In  September  the  Spanish  forces  in  Africa  won  several  vic- 
tories over  the  Moors,  two  strongly  fortified  posts — Zehuan  and 
Mount  Guruzu — being  taken  by  General  Marina  on  September  27. 
The  Spanish  government  celebrated  these  conquests  by  an  aboli- 
tion of  martial  law  in  all  the  provinces  except  Gerona  and  Barce- 
lona; the  instigators  of  the  riots  were  sought  out  and  punished. 
Among  those  who  suffered  for  their  beliefs  and  actions  was  Pro- 
fessor Francisco  Ferrer,  a  Spanish  educator  of  radical  tendencies. 
The  government  claimed  that  he  was  the  instigator  and  director  of 
the  Barcelona  riots.  He  admitted  his  radical  opinions,  but  denied 
any  connection  with  the  uprising.  His  trial  was  in  secret,  and  he 
was  condemned  by  a  court-martial  decree  to  death,  the  sentence 
being  carried  out  on  October  13  in  spite  of  protests  and  petitions 
by  sympathizers  not  only  in  Spain,  but  in  France  and  Italy.  The 
news  of  his  death  was  the  signal  for  general  rioting  throughout 
Europe;  in  London,  Paris,  Vienna,  and  Rome  the  police  had  great 
trouble  in  restraining  demonstrators  and  in  preventing  violence. 
When  the  Cortes  met  on  October  15,  1909,  it  expressed  loyalty  to 
the  government  and  the  throne.  On  October  21.  Sefior  Moret  y 
Prendergast,  the  Liberal  leader,  was  asked  to  form  a  ministry  to 
succeed  that  of  Maura,  which  had  resigned.  Within  a  week  after 
this  change  in  the  government,  the  two  provinces  of  Barcelona  and 
Gerona  had  been  freed  from  martial  law,  and  more  successes  for 


THE     BOURBON     RESTORATION     522c 

1909-l?I0 

the  Spanish  had  been  reported  from  Africa.  The  Liberals  were 
victorious  in  the  municipal  elections  of  December  12  of  this  same 
year,  and  internal  affairs  are  in  a  more  quiet  state  at  present 
(1910),  than  for  several  years.  In  common  with  other  countries 
Spain  suffered  from  terrible  storms  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1909,  considerable  damage  being  done  along  the  coast.  On 
January  13,  1910,  the  captain-general  of  Madrid  and  several  other 
Spanish  army  officers  were  relieved  of  their  commands  because 
of  their  action  in  expressing  adverse  criticism  of  the  government. 


PART  VIII 
PORTUGAL  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 


Chapter   XXII 

EVENTS   TO   THE   CLOSE   OF    THE   PENINSULAR    WAR 

1789-1815 

THE  earlier  narrative  of  the  annals  of  this  kingdom  closed 
with  the  year  1789,  when  its  then  queen,  Maria  (Fran- 
cisca)  L,  lost  what  little  intellect  she  possessed  and  the 
affairs  of  state  had  to  be  intrusted  to  her  son  Dom  Joam,  though 
he  was  not  declared  regent  till  ten  years  later.  This  prince  did  not 
come  to  the  throne  until  the  death  of  his  mother  in  Brazil  in  1816, 
though  the  government  practically  fell  into  his  hands  in  1792,  when 
Europe  began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution. He  assumed  the  crown  of  Portugal  as  Joam,  or  John,  VL 
During  his  regency  the  nation  became  the  theater  of  prolonged 
hostile  strife,  in  consequence  of  its  having  joined  the  European 
coalition  against  revolutionary  France  and  the  First  Consul,  and 
later  had  to  contend  against  the  designs  of  Napoleon.  This  brought 
England  to  the  regent's  assistance,  with  the  successive  armies  of 
Wellington  during  the  historic  period  of  the  Peninsular  war. 

At  an  earlier  period  Portugal  had  had  a  friendly  understand- 
ing with  England,  dating  from  the  era  of  the  ]\Iethuen  commercial 
treaty  of  1703,  which  permitted  Portuguese  wines  to  be  admitted 
at  a  low  rate  of  duty  into  Britain,  in  return  for  concessions  in  Por- 
tugal in  favor  of  English  manufactures.  The  eft'ect  of  this  prac- 
tical alliance  was  later  on  to  give  ])ermission  to  England  to  make 
use  of  Portugal  as  a  base  of  operations  against  Spain  in  the  war 
which  that  nation  had  entered  upon  in  1762  under  Charles  TH., 
at  the  period  when  his  kingdom  had  a  C(Mnpact  with  France  and  the 
Bourbon  powers  to  restrain  the  operations  of  England  in  America, 
and,  if  possible,  place  limits  upon  her  naval  supremacy  at  sea.  This 
war  with  Spain,  as  well  as  that  with  France,  known  in  the  New 
World  as  the  French  and  Indian  wars,  brought  signal  disaster  to  the 
arms  and  colonial  possessions  of  both  those  countries,  while  Por- 
tugal was  aided  In-  hci  English  ally  in  securing  the  restoration  from 
Spain  of  the  Porluguese  colonies  which  that  power  had  taken  from 

5^5 


526  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1756-1792 

her,  together  with  the  withdrawal  of  Spanish  and  French  troops 
from  Portuguese  territories. 

Portugal  was  fortunate  at  this  period  in  having  a  capable  and 
enlightened  minister  in  the  Marquis  of  Pombal,  who  did  much  for 
his  country  by  effecting  many  wise  reforms  in  the  kingdom.  In 
Europe  after  the  Seven  Years'  war  and  the  fall  of  the  Jesuit  order, 
a  closer  union  took  place  between  the  Bourbon  kingdoms  of  France, 
Spain,  Naples,  and  Parma ;  but  these  Latin  countries,  together  with 
the  power  of  the  papacy,  declined,  while  the  Slav  and  Teutonic 
elements  increased  in  strength  and  influence,  and  England  began 
to  have  her  hands  full  in  her  struggle  with  America  in  the  War  of 
Independence. 

During  Pombal's  intelligent  but  conservative  administration 
Portugal  pursued  a  peaceful  policy,  which  gave  opportunity  for 
developing  the  economic  as  well  as  the  general  internal  resources  of 
the  country,  under  the  quasi-protection  of  Britain.  The  kingdom 
was  for  a  lengthened  period  under  the  successive  rules  of  John  V. 
and  Joseph  (Jose),  and  was  strongly  absolutist.  In  1773  slavery 
was  abolished  and  the  general  enlightenment  of  the  kingdom  evinced 
by  the  attention  to  education.  The  University  of  Coimbra  was 
modernized  and  reforms  introduced  in  the  army,  while  greater 
attention  was  given  to  agriculture  and  to  the  profitable  product  of 
the  vine.  Active  measures  were  taken  to  build  up  anew  and  embel- 
lish Lisbon,  the  capital,  which  the  earthquake  in  1755  had  nearly 
destroyed,  and  means  for  undertaking  this  were  found  in  the 
princely  revenues  which  Portugal  long  received  from  her  diamond 
mines  and  other  rich  possessions  in  Brazil. 

By  the  time  Dom  Joam  assumed  the  regency  for  his  mother, 
all  Europe  was  greatly  affected  by  the  menacing  movement  in  revo- 
lutionary France.  The  Portuguese  regent  hastened  to  take  part 
with  Spain,  then  in  the  strong  hands  of  Florida  Blanca,  in  a 
war  with  the  French  republic.  Though  her  army  contingent,  in 
unison  with  Spain,  did  good  service  in  invading  the  French  proy- 
ince  of  Roussillon  and  gallantly  fighting  in  the  eastern  Pyrenees, 
besides  taking  part  with  her  fleet  with  England  in  the  Alediter- 
ranean,  shortly  afterwards  Portugal  was  deserted  by  her  Spanish 
ally.  Spain's  motive  in  this,  under  the  influence  of  the  new 
court  favorite,  Godoy,  in  concert  with  the  French  minister  at 
r\ladrid,  was  jealousy  of  Portugal,  and  the  scheming  of  France  to 
make  partition  of  the  kingdom,  inspired  by  the  ambitious  designs 


THE     PENINSULAR     WAR  527 

1807 

of  Bonaparte,  then  rising  to  power.  The  natural  result  of  this 
French  intrigue  at  Madrid  soon  showed  itself,  when  Spain  made 
her  peace  with  the  French  directory  and  declared  w^ar  against  Eng- 
land in  1796.  Bonaparte  was  engaged  in  his  campaign  in 
Italy  against  the  united  forces  of  Austria  and  Sardinia.  After 
his  victories  in  Italy  the  great  dictator  returned  to  Paris  in 
December,  and  a  year  and  a  half  later  he  set  out  for  Egypt.  At  the 
battle  of  the  Nile,  as  we  know,  France  lost  her  llect,  which  was 
annihilated  by  Nelson,  and  though  in  his  expedition  Napoleon  took 
Alexandria,  won  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids,  and  entered  Cairo,  he 
had  a  narrow  escape  from  capture  by  English  cruisers  on  his  return 
to  France.  In  the  French  capital  we  find  him  at  the  close  of  the 
century  menaced  by  European  monarchs,  including  Emperor  Paul 
of  Russia,  while  in  the  war  of  the  Second  Coalition  against  revolu- 
tionary France  tlie  Russian  general  Suwarrow  gained  a  succession 
of  victories  over  the  French  forces  in  Italy.  ^Meanwhile  Napoleon 
had  become  First  Consul,  on  the  abolition  of  the  French  directory, 
and  in  the  course  of  time,  with  the  reaction  in  France  once  more 
towards  a  monarchy,  assumed  the  rank  and  title  of  emperor  of  the 
French  and  king  of  Italy. 

One  of  the  am])itious  schemes  of  Napoleon  at  this  period, 
which  he  now  proceeded  to  put  into  execution,  was  the  reduction 
of  Spain  to  the  status  of  a  vassal  nation,  with  the  ulterior  design 
of  placing  a  member  of  liis  family  on  its  throne.  Another  project 
was  the  invasion  of  Portugal,  which  he  hated,  and  wished  to  punish 
by  making  partition  of  the  kingdom,  since  he  could  not  get  the  prince 
regent  to  concur  in  his  continental  system  by  closing  the  ports  of 
the  country  to  English  commerce,  driving  out  or  imprisoning  the 
English  in  the  seaports,  and  confiscating  their  goods  and  chattels. 

The  invasion  and  occupation  of  Portugal  l)y  a  h^rcnch  army 
under  Junot  so(jn  took  place,  Junot's  f(^rccs  arriving  at  Lisbon  from 
the  Spanish  border  towards  the  end  of  November,  1807,  just  before 
the  regent  and  the  whole  n^val  family  embarked  for  lirazil,  under 
the  convoy  of  some  vessels  of  the  luiglish  licet.  Murat,  early  in 
the  following  vcar,  at  the  head  of  another  wing  of  the  French  army, 
entered  Spain  and  marched  upon  Madrid.  Napoleon's  intentions 
were  soon  disclosed  in  the  Spanish  ca{)ital,  though  under  pretense 
of  a  professedly  friendly  hand.  Soon  after  l-\^rclinand,  Spain's 
heir-apparent,  was  lured  to  r)ayonne  to  an  inierview  wirli  the 
French  emperor,  and  there  with  his  father,  Cluuics  III.,  who  had 


528  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1808 

followed  him,  was  forced  to  abdicate,  and  the  stolen  crown  of  Spain 
conferred  upon  Joseph  Bonaparte. 

Meanwhile,  the  little  kingdom  of  Portugal,  invaded  by  French 
troops,  and  deserted  by  the  reigning  family,  was  in  sad  plight, 
especially  as  inklings  got  about  of  the  treaty  of  Fontainebleau, 
October,  1807,  which  forshadowed  the  dismemberment  of  Por- 
tugal and  its  alienation  and  partition  among  the  obsequious  adher- 
ents of  Napoleon.  On  the  coming  of  Junot  with  his  French  army 
to  Lisbon,  though  its  commander  at  first  showed  the  complaisant 
side  of  his  face  to  the  chief  people  at  the  capital,  he  presently  pre- 
sented himself  in  another  aspect  by  dissolving  the  council  of  regency 
which  Dom  John  had  called  into  existence  before  taking  flight  with 
his  family  to  Rio  de  Janeiro.  At  the  same  time  he  seized  all  the 
money  in  the  royal  treasury,  and  by  a  requisition  levy  extracted  two 
million  francs  from  the  coffers  of  the  capital.  He  also  disbanded 
the  Portuguese  army  at  Lisbon  and  sent  to  France  democratic  con- 
tingents of  it,  which  became  known  in  the  later  Napoleonic  cam- 
paigns as  the  Portuguese  Legion,  and  then  notified  the  people,  who 
were  overawed  and  treated  as  a  subject  nation,  that  an  end  had 
come  to  the  late  reigning  house  of  Braganza.  When  news  of  these 
rapacious  and  insolent  acts  got  abroad,  there  were  risings  over  the 
country,  Oporto,  particularly,  being  indignant  at  their  occurrence. 
The  latter  city  called  into  existence  a  patriotic  junta,  which  seized 
the  French  governor,  while  from  Braga  to  Fara  there  were  risings 
against  the  French  generals  and  inferior  officers,  who  were  either 
shot  or  expelled  from  the  kingdom.  Presently,  also,  came  a  reac- 
tion in  Spain,  with  similar  revolts  against  the  common  enemy,  and, 
encouraged  by  these  protests  against  French  invasion  and  tyranny, 
the  Portuguese  called  upon  England  to  come  as  an  ally  to  their 
assistance.  This  appeal  was  at  once  met  by  the  dispatch  to  the 
country  of  an  army  under  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  and  the  precipita- 
ting of  the  Peninsular  war. 

The  conscienceless  game  Napoleon  was  playing  in  the  Penin- 
sula was  met  in  Spain  by  the  organization  of  juntas  in  the  chief 
centers,  by  an  insurrection,  aided  bv  a  strong  armed  force  in  Ara- 
gon,  which  had  its  inception  at  Saragossa:  by  the  renunciation  of 
all  duty  to  the  ]\Ladrid  government  at  Valencia ;  by  a  rising  m 
Andalusia,  where  the  French  met  with  a  crushing  defeat,  and  by 
the  general  resort  in  many  districts  to  guerrilla  warfare.  The  con- 
sequences of  these  risings,  and  of  the  exasperation  of  the  Spanish 


THE     PENINSULAR     WAR  529 

1809-1810 

people  and  their  menacing  attitude,  shown  in  the  fact  that  at  this 
period  18,000  French  soldiers  laid  down  their  arms,  was  the  tem- 
porary withdrawal  of  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  his  flight  for  personal 
safety  to  Burgos.  The  patriot  cause  was  at  this  juncture  helped 
by  the  arrival  at  Corunna  of  7,000  Spanish  troops  from  Denmark, 
which  had  been  relieved  by  the  English  admiral  in  Baltic  waters 
from  service  there  after  the  country  had  come  to  terms  with 
Britain,  following  upon  Nelson's  great  victory  at  Copenhagen  and 
the  seizure  of  Heligoland.  The  situation  in  both  Spain  and  Port- 
ugal, as  the  result  of  Napoleon's  intrigues,  had  roused  hearty  and 
active  sympathy  in  England,  which,  as  we  have  said,  brought 
Wellesley  to  Portugal,  where  he  landed  at  Mondego  Bay,  with  a 
force  of  about  10,000  men,  in  1808,  to  begin  his  operations  in  the 
Peninsula.  In  the  north  Sir  John  Moore,  with  a  large  army,  was 
to  cooperate  with  Sir  Arthur,  the  objective  point  of  both  com- 
mands being  Lisbon,  the  capital.  Unfortunately,  though  Wellesley 
had  met  Junot  and  his  army  of  Vimiera  and  given  them  a  sound 
beating,  the  campaign  was  temporarily  closed  by  the  maladroit  con- 
vention at  Cintra,  foolishly  made  on  behalf  of  Britain  by  Sir  Hew 
Dalrymple,  a  circumstance  that  brought  upon  that  general  the 
severe  censure  of  the  British  government.  This  stupid  interference 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Peninsula  was  not  made  better  by  Moore's 
gallant  stand  at  Corunna,  whither  he  had  retreated  before  the 
French,  and  where,  although  he  lost  his  life,  he  repulsed  20,000 
French  veterans  under  Soult  on  January  16,  1809. 

WelleL'y,  some  months  before  this,  had  returned  to  England, 
leaving  !I^,:oore  in  command  at  Lisbon,  whence  the  latter  took  his 
way  northward  to  his  heroic  death  at  Corunna.  Here  his  command 
embarked  for  England,  while  Napoleon,  leaving  Soult  in  the  field, 
had  been  recalled  to  France  by  the  then  threatening  attitude  of 
Austria.  Presently,  however,  a  new  coalition,  the  fifth,  was 
formed  against  the  eni])eror,  and  included  Britain,  Austria,  Por- 
tugal, and  Spain.  \\'e]lesley,  who  was  to  be  the  main  cause  of 
the  French  dictator's  final  overthrow,  once  more  set  out  for  Por- 
tugal, where  he  lanckxl  at  tlie  mouth  of  the  'i'agns  in  April, 
1809.  Soult  had  invaded  Portugal  from  the  nortli.  and 
marched  westward  upon  Oporto.  ^Meanwhile,  Wellesley,  with  a 
force  of  16,000  men,  advanced  from  Lisbon  by  way  of  Coimbra, 
crossed  the  Dniirn,  and  drove  Soult  in  retreat  into  Spain.  Towards 
the  end  of  Julv  Ih-itain's  great  commander,  now  joined  by  a  Span- 


530  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1811-1812 

ish  force  under  Cuesta,  fought  the  fiercely  contested  battle  of  Tala- 
vera,  on  the  Tagus,  southwestward  of  Madrid,  repulsing  with  but 
16,000  bayonets  the  French,  over  30,000  strong,  under  Generals 
Victor  and  Jourdan  and  King  Joseph,  an  achievement  worthy  of 
the  exploits  of  the  great  Marlborough.  For  his  victory  Wellesley 
obtained  a  peerage,  with  the  title  of  Viscount  Wellington.  Ham- 
pered rather  than  aided  by  the  Spanish  troops,  and  ill-supplied  with 
necessaries  for  his  army  by  Spain,  whose  battles  he  was  fighting, 
Wellington  was  compelled  to  forego  other  operations  in  Spain  and 
withdraw  into  Portugal.  While  doing  so  he  established  strong 
posts  on  the  Tagus  and  a  vast  circle  of  defensive  works  along  the 
line  of  French  advance  from  Spain,  which  now  entered  Beira  under 
Marshal  Massena.  This  French  general  took  some  fortresses  on 
the  northeast  of  Portugal,  and  advanced  upon  Wellington's  flank 
at  Busaco,  to  the  northward  of  Coimbra,  where,  on  September  27, 
18 10,  he  met  with  a  bloody  reverse  at  the  hands  of  the  British  and 
Portuguese.  Wellington  now  proceeded  to  fortify  himself  within 
the  extensive  lines  he  had  caused  to  be  constructed  to  defend  the 
approaches  to  the  capital  at  Torres  Vedras,  to  the  north  of  Lisbon. 
From  these  formidable  lines  Massena  recoiled,  though  he  had  been 
bidden  by  his  great  master  in  Paris  "  to  drive  the  English  into  the 
sea,"  and  as  his  astute  British  adversary  had  desolated  the  region 
of  country  occupied  by  Massena,  the  latter  and  his  shattered  army, 
unable  to  find  subsistence,  were  compelled  to  retrace  their  steps  into 
Spain.  After  losing  another  great  battle,  this  time  at  Fuentes 
de  Onoro,  Massena  was  peremptorily  relieved  of  his  command  by 
Napoleon.  The  emperor  directed  Soult  and  Marmont  to  renewed 
attacks,  but  the  decisive  French  defeat  under  the  latter  at  Salamanca 
(July  22,  18 12)  put  an  end  to  further  French  invasion  of  Portugal. 
This  splendid  victory  of  Wellington  and  his  possessing  himself  of 
and  fortifying  those  keys  of  Spain,  Ciudad  Rodrigo  and  Badajoz, 
put  such  heart  into  the  Spanish  people  for  the  renewed  defense  of 
their  country  against  French  aggression  that  King  Joseph  aban- 
doned his  throne  at  IMadrid.  The  capital  was  entered  and  occupied 
by  Wellington  in  August.  Here  the  British  commander  was  hailed 
with  acclaim  and  received  high  honors  from  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment, while  in  England  he  was  rewarded  by  another  step  in  the 
peerage,  as  the  Marquis  of  Wellington. 

While   these   events   were   happening,    Napoleon,     in   conflict 
now   with   almost  all   Europe,   had   undertaken   his   ill-starred   in- 


THE     PENINSULAR     WAR  631 

1811-1813 

vasion  of  Russia  and  marched  upon  Moscow,  with  the  disastrous 
result  familiar  to  everyone.  England  at  this  time,  moreover,  had 
upon  her  hands  a  war  with  the  United  States ;  but  in  spite  of  that 
unnatural  embroilment  with  her  kin  beyond  the  sea,  she  joined 
actively  in  the  new  (sixth)  coalition  of  the  European  powers 
against  France  and  her  emperor,  which  now  embraced  Russia, 
Sweden,  Austria,  and  Prussia,  with  some  of  the  minor  German 
states.  Meantime  Wellington  had  still  opposed  to  him  in  Spain 
the  French  forces  under  Jourdan,  Suchet,  and  the  discrowned 
King  Joseph,  Soult  and  his  army  having  been  recalled  to  aid 
Napoleon  in  the  struggle  in  central  Europe.  The  chronicling  of 
the  final  campaigns  in  the  Peninsula,  until  the  expulsion  of  the 
French,  need  not  now  long  occupy  us.  With  the  withdrawal  of 
portions  of  the  French  army  for  the  greater  needs  of  the  emperor 
elsewhere,  occurrences  in  Spain  were  shorn  of  much  importance, 
though  Wellington  had  in  view,  when  he  had  driven  the  invaders 
out  of  the  Peninsula,  to  maintain  the  fighting  across  the  frontier 
on  French  soil.  Undertaking  this  project,  and  leaving  sufficient 
troops  to  check  any  attempts  to  disturb  the  upper  waterways  of 
the  Tagus.  \\"ellington  moved  northward  upon  Burgos,  which  the 
French  abandoned  to  defend  the  passage  of  the  Ebro.  Here  the 
enemy's  position  was  turned,  and  the  victors  drove  the  French 
back  upon  and  out  of  Victoria,  when  they  fell  back  upon  the  moun- 
tain frontiers  extending  through  Navarre  and  the  Basque  prov- 
inces close  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  In  this  region  Pampeluna  was 
blockaded,  and  the  siege  of  St.  Sebastian  undertaken.  The  menace 
of  the  invasion  of  France  by  the  Britisli  and  their  Peninsular  allies 
was  now  so  great  that  Soult  was  sent  to  the  southern  frontiers  to 
defend  the  country,  when  a  series  of  bloody  encounters,  known  as 
the  battles  of  the  Pyrenees,  took  place,  after  whicli  St.  Sebas- 
tian fell  amid  frightful  bloodslicd ;  while  the  Bidassoa  was  crossed, 
the  battle  of  the  Nivelle  was  fought  and  won,  and  the  lower 
Adour  River  was  reached  and  crossed.  The  end  now  approached, 
for  Wellington  had  driven  tlie  I-^rench  from  the  Peninsula  and 
achieved  his  purpose  of  carrying  on  the  struggle  on  the  soil  of 
France.  Soult  had  done  his  best  to  defeat  the  latter  project,  but 
had  signally  failed;  while,  after  Bayonne  had  h,ecn  invested,  the 
onward  movement  of  the  victors  forced  him  inland  and  eastward. 
His  losses  had  been  a])])alling:  yet  he  \\as  ah'uu  to  suffer  still 
others,   for  he  was  beaten  at  Orthes.   unable  to  defend   l^ordcaux. 


532  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1813-1815 

and  after  Wellington  had  crossed  the  Garonne,  the  great  battle  of 
Toulouse  (April  lo,  1814)  went  against  him,  and  the  French  posi- 
tion on  the  heights  above  the  city  was  taken.  With  the  French 
evacuation  of  Toulouse  and  its  occupation  by  the  victors,  came  the 
end  of  strife  in  the  region  and  the  last  of  the  Peninsular  wars. 

The  cessation  of  the  long  conflict,  we  need  hardly  add,  was 
the  result  of  Napoleon's  disastrous  defeat  at  Leipsic  and  Bliicher's 
entrance  in  great  force  into  France,  events  which  brought  about 
the  surrender  of  Paris,  with  the  abdication  of  the  emperor,  and  his 
commitment  into  exile  at  Elba.  The  necessary  historic  pendant  to 
this  has  to  be  added,  that  Napoleon  escaped  from  Elba  and  returned 
to  France  in  March,  181 5,  when  he  assumed  once  more  the  govern- 
ment of  the  empire.  This  brought  on  the  period  known  as  "  The 
Flundred  Days,"  during  which  Wellington,  now  a  duke,  was  hur- 
ried off  to  Brussels,  to  crown  his  triumphs  in  the  brief  but  decisive 
Waterloo  campaign.  On  June  16,  181 5,  Napoleon,  with  his 
veterans,  attacked  and  inflicted  a  serious  defeat  upon  the  Prus- 
sians at  Ligny;  while  Wellington  repulsed  Marshal  Ney  at  Quatre 
Bras,  who  then  fell  back  on  the  now  historic  field  of  Waterloo. 
Here,  on  Sunday,  the  i8th,  after  a  long  day's  sanguinary  conflict, 
Napoleon  and  the  French  army,  together  with  the  emperor's  vet- 
erans of  the  Old  Guard,  were  decisively  beaten  by  the  "  Iron  Duke," 
assisted  by  the  Prussians  under  Bliicher.  This  final  French  dis- 
comfiture brought  about  the  second  abdication  of  Napoleon,  and, 
after  his  capture  by  the  Bellerophon  and  departure  into  exile  in  St. 
Helena,  there  followed  the  Peace  of  Paris,  signed  by  the  five  great 
powers,  and  the  rearrangement  of  the  map  of  Europe. 


Chapter  XXIII 

GROWTH   OF  THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  MONARCHY 

1816-1910 

ylFTER  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  the  Peninsula, 
L\  and  the  historic  sequel  of  Waterloo.  Portugal  has  little 
-iL  Jk-  that  is  notable  to  record.  The  little  kingdom  for  a  time 
was  given  over  to  more  or  less  civil  strife:  and  in  the  absence 
of  a  court — the  nominally  reigning  family  being  still  in  Brazil 
— the  country  fell  to  low  estate  in  the  rank  of  European 
nations,  and  was,  in  fact,  but  a  dependency  of  its  South  Amer- 
ican colony.  Her  people,  however,  through  the  trying  period 
of  the  war  had  manifested  not  a  few  creditable  marks  of 
greatness,  which,  had  their  nobles  and  chief  leaders  not  basely 
deserted  the  country  with  their  ruler,  might  have  shown  to 
more  signal  advantage,  independently  of  English  assistance.  In 
contrast  with  the  troops  of  Spain,  Portuguese  soldiers,  more- 
over, had  throughout  the  war  given  evidence  of  a  higher  patriot- 
ism, as  well  as  of  conspicuous  bravery,  endurance,  and  dis- 
cipline; and  to  their  figliting  qualities  the  great  English  captain 
who  had  led  them  through  many  and  wearisome  campaigns  bore 
emphatic  testimony.  High,  also,  was  the  opinion  in  regard  to  them 
held  by  the  English  major-general  Marshal  Beresford,  who  had 
organized  many  thousands  of  Portuguese  troops  and,  in  spite  of 
the  thwartings  of  tlie  ^Madrid  Council  of  Regency,  helped  to  put 
them  efficiently  in  the  field  alongside  frcsli  contingents  of  the  Eng- 
lish soldiery  and  the  veteran  English  brigades. 

Meanwhile,  masses  of  the  people  in  various  sections  of  the 
country  were  riven  with  discord.  Political  discontent  showed 
itself  in  revolt  against  the  inert  administration  at  Lisbon,  after  it 
had  lost  tlie  active  aid  and  helpful  direction  of  Mr.  Villiers,  the 
English  ambassador  at  the  caj)ital.  This  state  of  unrest  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  crealinn  of  rival  juntas,  composed  largely  of  dis- 
charged troops,  and  even  of  those  still  in  the  pay  of  the  country. 
One  of  these  insurreclinnary  bodies  was  at  Oporto,  the  other  was 
at  the  capital,  and  both  threw  off  their  old  allegiance  to  constitu- 
ent 


534.  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1816-1822 

tional  authority  and  established  provisional  governments.  What 
they  sought  in  thus  defying  the  Council  of  Regency  was  the  sum- 
moning of  the  Cortes,  with  an  enlarged  representation  of  the  peo- 
ple among  its  deputies.  They  also  decried  the  existing  constitu- 
tion and  desired  an  end  to  come  to  government  from  Brazil,  unless 
money  was  forthcoming  from  that  quarter  to  pay  arrears  due  the 
army  at  home,  while  among  the  more  radical  element  there  arose 
a  cry  for  the  sundering  of  British  connection,  now  that  the  war 
subsidies  from  England  had  ceased.  In  short,  the  desire  was  that 
"  Portugal  should  be  ruled  by  the  Portuguese."  England  took  the 
hint  to  herself,  and  withdrew  Marshal  (now  Lord)  Beresford  with 
his  staff;  while  Russia,  Austria,  and  Prussia  recalled  from 
Lisbon  their  respective  ambassadors.  In  Portugal  matters  were 
complicated  by  the  condition  that  had  now  existed  for  thirteen 
years  with  the  prince  regent  a  resident  of  Brazil,  and  drawing 
there  largely  upon  the  wealth  which  formerly  had  come  to  the 
motherland.  When  revolution  in  Portugal  broke  out,  in  1820, 
Dom  John,  at  the  friendly  instigation  of  England,  was  induced  to 
return  to  Lisbon,  leaving  his  son,  Dom  Pedro,  regent  at  Rio  de 
Janeiro  in  his  absence.  He  left  behind  him  instructions  which 
practically  made  Brazil  independent  of  the  motherland,  and  directed 
his  son,  in  the  event  of  any  disposition  manifesting  itself  in  the  col- 
ony towards  independence,  to  put  the  crown  on  his  own  head  and 
thus  save  the  rich  transatlantic  possession  of  the  Portuguese  for  the 
house  of  Braganza.  This  precautionary  measure,  as  it  happened, 
proved  ere  long  to  be  astutely  taken,  for  Brazil,  in  September,  1822, 
declared  herself  independent  of  Portugal,  and  though  the  Portuguese 
warships  at  Rio  made  a  show  of  resistance,  in  loyalty  to  royal  con- 
nection at  Madrid,  Dom  Pedro  was  elected  emperor,  having  first 
subscribed  to  a  liberal  parliamentary  constitution. 

On  his  return  to  Portugal  Dom  John,  now  King  John  VI., 
for  his  mad  mother.  Queen  Maria  Francisco,  had  died  in  181 6, 
found  the  country  in  the  throes  of  a  revolution,  mainly  incited  by  his 
own  cjueen.  Carlotta  did  not  live  happily  with  her  husband,  though 
she  returned  to  Portugal  with  him,  and  now  schemed  to  seize  the 
throne  for  her  headstrong  son,  Dom  Miguel,  who  was,  however,  be- 
lieved to  be  illegitimate.  As  neither  mother  nor  son  favored  the  new 
constitution  of  1822,  they  were  both  compelled  to  leave  Lisbon;  but 
Miguel,  nevertheless,  continued  to  intrigue  against  his  father  and  the 
constitutional  monarchy,  wnth  the  result  that  John  VI.  was  obliged 


CONSTITUTIONAL     MONARCHY         535 

1822-1827 

for  a  time  to  take  refuge  on  an  English  man-of-war  in  the 
Tagus.  At  length,  however,  the  insurrection  was  suppressed, 
and  the  king's  unfilial  son  was  banished.  King  John,  not  liking 
the  situation  of  affairs  in  the  country  to  which  he  had  returned,  and 
being  enamored  of  life  in  Brazil,  set  out  thither  in  1824,  leaving 
the  kingdom  under  the  regency  of  his  daughter,  Isabel  Maria.  In 
Brazil  the  king  died  in  1826,  and  the  English  government,  desirous 
of  securing  a  peaceable  succession,  with  quietness  in  the  kingdom, 
sent  to  Portugal  an  army  division,  under  Sir  William  Clinton,  to 
keep  order  and  garrison  the  chief  cities.  Under  this  fostering  pro- 
tection the  Brazilian  emperor  Pedro  was  declared  king  as  Pedro 
IV. ;  but  the  new  monarch,  preferring  residence  in  Rio,  and  wishing 
to  gratify  his  Brazilian  subjects,  abdicated  the  throne  in  favor  of  his 
seven-year-old  -daughter,  Maria  da  Gloria,  who  became  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  kingdom,  while  her  uncle,  Dom  ]\Iiguel,  now  free 
to  return  to  Lisbon,  was  declared  regent  in  1827. 

The  bigoted  Dom  ]\Hguel  showed  his  intolerant,  reac- 
tionary character,  and  the  country  came  under  a  veritable 
reign  of  terror.  The  regent  at  once  deposed  and  exiled  Pal- 
mella,  the  prime  minister,  together  with  the  leaders  of  the  parlia- 
mentary or  chartist  party  at  the  seat  of  government,  who  found  an 
asylum  in  the  Azores.  Setting  up  absolute  rule,  he  at  the  same  time 
deported  thousands  to  Africa,  and  imprisoned,  for  so-called  political 
offenses,  as  many  as  40,000  of  the  people.  The  inevitable  result 
was  the  distraction  and  ruin  of  the  kingdom.  In  the  crisis  con- 
flicting parties  came  togetlier,  and,  sinking  their  political  differences, 
sought,  under  the  constitution  of  1820  and  the  charter  of  1826,  to 
assert  their  rights  and  endeavor  to  depose  the  tyrannous  regent. 
Nor  was  the  movement  against  Dom  ^Miguel  confined  to  Portugal, 
for  Dom  Pedro,  in  Brazil,  inlluenced  in  part  by  disturbances  in  his 
American  empire  and  the  defection  of  one  of  its  provinces,  which 
declared  its  independence  as  the  state  of  Uruguay,  and  in  part  by  a 
desire  to  return  to  Portugal  to  espouse  the  cause  of  his  youthful 
daughter,  Maria  da  Gloria,  tlicn  being  educated  in  Vienna,  resigned 
the  Brazilian  crown  in  favor  of  liis  son  and  set  out  for  Europe.  Pro- 
ceeding first  to  his  nation's  old  ally,  England,  he  was  enabled  to 
raise  a  loan  in  tlic  ycning  queen's  interest,  and  hastened  to 
the  Azores,  where  tlie  inlhiential  exiled  Portuguese  had  establislied 
a  Council  of  Kegency,  in  tlie  name  of  ?klaria  da  (jloria.  Eor  this 
act  of  hostility  to  Dom   ^liguel  thcv  had  l)cen   visited  bv  a  war 


536  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1833-1834 

fleet  sent  to  the  Azores  by  the  tyrant,  which,  however,  they  were 
fortunate  enough  to  fight  off  and  repel.  At  the  ex-emperor's  com- 
ing he  found  no  difficulty  in  raising  an  army  of  adherents,  over 
7,000  in  number,  and  with  them,  and  the  money  he  had  raised 
in  England,  Pedro  set  sail  for  Oporto.  Here  the  Portuguese,  sick 
of  Miguel  and  his  infamous  regime,  heartily  rallied  to  the  young 
queen's  cause;  but  Miguel's  forces,  and  the  following  of  autocracy 
at  his  beck,  were  soon  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  and  laid  siege  to  the 
place. 

The  conflict  that  ensued  was  a  long  and  harrowing  one,  for 
the  besieged  suffered  from  famine,  while  the  besiegers  were  deci- 
mated by  cholera  breaking  out  among  them.  At  length  the  Miguel- 
ite  fleet  which  invested  the  city  on  its  sea  front  was  defeated, 
and  another  section  of  it,  later  on,  off  Cape  St.  Vincent.  The 
army  of  besiegers  was  twice  badly  beaten,  in  March,  1833, 
and  in  July,  when  the  Pedroites  raised  the  siege  and  got  abroad 
in  the  country,  it  was  put  to  rout  and  the  capital  was  entered.  In 
the  next  year  Dom  Pedro  summoned  his  daughter  to  Lisbon, 
and  her  accession  as  Queen  Maria  IL  was  recognized  by 
England,  France,  and  Spain.  The  last  named  country  aided  Maria's 
cause  by  sending  two  Spanish  armies  to  Portugal  to  uphold  the 
young  queen's  interests  and  crush  the  Miguelites.  This  was  finally 
achieved  in  May,  1834,  at  Evora  Monte,  when  Dom  Miguel  sur- 
rendered, abandoned  all  right  to  the  Portuguese  throne,  and  with 
the  promise  of  a  pension  left  the  kingdom. 

Queen  Maria  IL,  although  still  young,  was  declared  of 
age,  and  met  the  Cortes,  having  previously  appointed  her  loyal 
adherent,  Palmella,  now  a  duke,  president  of  the  Executive. 
The  Cortes  declared  the  throne  forever  forfeit  to  Dom  Miguel 
and  his  heirs,  and  forbade  them,  on  pain  of  death,  to  return  to  Por- 
tugal. It,  moreover,  put  under  ban,  and  indeed  abolished,  the  friar 
orders  that  had  espoused,  and  interestedly  and  actively  aided,  the 
]\Iiguelite  cause.  But  the  return  of  peace,  with  the  promise  of  much 
usefulness  to  the  country  as  the  result  of  the  new  regime  and  of 
Palmella's  beneficent  system  of  parliamentary  government,  was 
not  long  to  gladden  the  heart  of  the  queen's  paternal  counselor  and 
wise  adviser,  for  towards  the  close  of  the  year  (1834)  Pedro  died 
near  Lisbon,  worn  out  by  his  anxieties  and  solicitudes  for  his 
daughter's  welfare,  at  the  same  time  leaving  behind  him  an  honored 
name  dear  to  the  best  and  most  patriotic  people  of  the  nation. 


CONSTITUTIONAL     MONARCHY         537 

1835-1847 

The  death  of  the  good  Pedro  of  Brazil  and  the  fall  of  his  am- 
bitious empire  in  the  latter  country  were  circumstances  not  only 
sadly  adverse  to  Maria  II. 's  interests  in  the  motherland,  but,  with 
the  political  strife  that  ensued,  were  unfavorable  to  the  stability  of 
monarchy  in  Portugal.  Though  the  house  of  Braganza  recovered 
for  the  time  from  the  shocks  it  had  received  by  these  events,  the 
throne  for  many  years  seemed  to  totter,  while  the  state  of  the  na- 
tion's finances  became  deplorable,  and  its  credit  in  the  bourses  of 
Europe  bad.  With  the  strifes  of  factions  at  the  capital  and  the  coun- 
try districts  overrun  and  distracted  by  guerrillas  and  bandits,  Portu- 
gal throughout  this  reign  had  an  unhappy  experience.  In  spite  of 
this,  the  young  queen,  as  the  nation  wanted  an  heir  to  the  throne, 
within  a  short  time  twice  entered  the  bonds  of  wedlock,  marrying, 
first,  Augustus,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg,  and,  on  his  death,  within  a 
year,  allying  herself  with  Duke  Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Coburg,  nephew 
of  Leopold  of  the  Belgians.  The  latter  the  queen  made  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  army,  and  under  him  there  was  soon  need  of  the 
services  of  the  troops,  as  serious  disturbances  broke  out  at  the  capital 
over  the  political  complexion  of  affairs,  with  an  urgent  demand 
for  a  revision  of  the  constitution.  Before  this  was  acceded  to  there 
was  considerable  fighting  in  Lisbon,  though  quiet  for  a  time  reigned, 
when  the  constitution  of  1838,  a  modification  of  that  of  1822,  was 
granted.  For  four  years  the  new  instrument  of  government  worked 
fairly  well,  until  a  demand  was  made  upon  the  Executive  for  a 
revival  of  the  Oporto  charter  of  1826.  Political  pressure  caused  the 
charter  to  be  adopted,  especially  as  many  influential  people  clamored 
fur  it,  among  them  being  the  Duke  of  Terceira  and  Costa  Cabral, 
the  latter,  after  a  change  of  government,  becoming  president  of  the 
cabinet,  and,  later  on.  Count  of  Thomar. 

A  further  outbreak  occurred  shortly  after  this,  instigated  by 
a  third  party  in  the  state,  the  Septcmbrists,  who  sought  to  control 
the  administration  of  affairs.  So  serious  did  it  become  that  much 
fighting  ensued,  with  an  attempt  to  elevate  Saldanha,  the  statesman 
and  general,  who  again  came  to  power.  Still  another  rising  fol- 
lowed, which  brouglit  on  the  wretched  war  of  Maria  da  Fonte. 
Through  foreign  intervention  it  was,  however,  ended  in  1847, 
when  by  tlie  convcnticrn  of  Granada  an  amnesty  was  declared.  Un- 
der Saldanha's  administration,  two  years  later,  the  wheel  of  fate, 
put  in  motion  by  the  Count  of  Thomar.  again  upset  the  government 
and  seated  the  count  in  office,  onlv  to  be  overturned  once  more 


538  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1851-1876 

by  Saldanha  in  1851,  with  the  army  at  his  back.  The  following 
year  saw  some  return  to  stability  in  Portuguese  affairs,  with  a  new 
revision  of  the  charter  and  concessions  made  to  the  radical  party  in 
the  state.  Tlie  era  of  tumult  closed  speedily  after  this,  with  the 
death  of  Maria  11.,  in  November,  1853,  and  the  assumption  of  the 
regency,  on  behalf  of  Pedro,  the  heir-apparent,  by  Ferdinand,  Maria 
da  Gloria's  widower-husband.  In  1855  ^^^^  young  king  came  of 
age  and  into  the  line  of  succession  as  Pedro  V.,  marrying,  two 
years  later,  the  Princess  Stephanie  of  Hohenzollern. 

Pedro  V.  assumed  the  government  of  Portugal  in  1855,  as 
we  have  said,  but  did  not  live  long  to  rule,  as  six  years  later  he  fell 
a  victim  to  cholera,  w-hich,  with  a  calamitous  outbreak  of  yellow 
fever,  at  this  period  ravaged  Lisbon,  then  in  a  most  unsanitary 
condition.  The  era,  politically,  was  a  vast  improvement  over  that 
of  Maria  IL  The  country,  with  freedom  from  strife  and  convulsion, 
made  much  advancement;  while  literature  sufficiently  felt  the 
calm  of  the  time  to  burgeon  out  afresh  after  a  long  period  of 
lethargy.  The  only  important  event  of  a  disturbing  character  dur- 
ing Pedro's  era  was  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  Tagus  by  a  fleet 
sent  by  Napoleon  III.  to  demand  monetary  compensation  for  the 
seizure  of  a  French  vessel  by  the  Portuguese  authorities  at  Mozam- 
bique in  1858.  Portugal  complied  with  the  demand,  yet  the 
government  held  that  there  was  injustice  in  this,  since  the  vessel  in 
question  was  seized  because  it  had,  under  a  thin  disguise,  been  en- 
gaged in  the  contraband  slave  trade  off  the  African  coast. 

The  successor  on  the  throne  to  Pedro  was  his  brother,  Dom 
Luis,  Vv-ho,  after  a  brief  period  under  the  regency  of  Ferdinand, 
came  to  the  crown  in  1861,  and  married  shortly  afterwards  Maria, 
a  daughter  of  Victor  Emmanuel,  king  of  Italy.  The  political 
parties  acquiesced  patriotically  in  the  new  regime,  though  the  vet- 
eran statesman,  Saldanha,  now  almost  the  last  of  the  old  party 
leaders,  appeared  menacingly  one  day  at  court  in  1870,  and  insisted 
that  King  Luis  should  dismiss  his  chief  minister,  the  Duke  of 
Louie.  The  complaisant  king  wisely  humored  the  old  veteran,  now 
a  duke,  by  giving  him  a  seat  in  the  cabinet,  after  which  he  dis- 
patched him  to  London,  as  Portuguese  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
St.  James,  where  he  died  in  the  year  1876. 

For  the  next  twenty-eight  years  Portugal  made  uninterrupted 
strides  in  national  advancement,  Luis  I.  reigning  peacefully 
throughout  this  lengthened  period,  and  dying,   to  the  kingdom  s 


CONSTITUTIONAL     MONARCHY         639 

1876-1889 

great  regret,  in  October,  1889.  Ten  years  before  this  the  flight 
of  Isabella  of  Spain  and  the  revohition  that  followed  that  event 
brought  up  the  question  of  a  suitable  sovereign  for  the  Spanish 
throne.  Among  the  names  under  consideration  at  Madrid  was  that 
of  Ferdinand  of  Portugal,  the  husband  of  the  late  Maria  da  Gloria. 
The  offer  was  made  to  him,  but  declined,  when  Amadeus,  Duke  of 
Aosta,  the  candidate  of  Prim,  was  finally  chosen  and  accepted  the 
crown.  The  incident  shows  the  degree  of  favor  with  which  Spain 
regarded  this  member  of  the  Portuguese  royal  family,  and  how  near 
an  approach  was  then  made  to  the  possible  and  desirable  union  of 
the  two  old  countries  in  the  Peninsula  under  one  government.  The 
opportunity  of  federation  was,  fortunately  or  unfortunately,  let 
slip  at  this  crisis,  and  was  not  renewed,  as  it  was  hoped  it  would 
be,  during  the  early  seventies,  when  Spain  was  oscillating  between 
a  monarchy  and  a  republic. 

The  successor  of  Luis  I.  of  Portugal  was  his  oldest  son,  Dom 
Carlos,  born  in  1863,  who  was  crowned  in  1889,  taking  the  title  of 
Carlos  (Charles)  I.  He  was  the  third  of  the  line  of  the  Braganza- 
Coburg  family.  In  1886,  three  years  before  coming  to  the  throne, 
he  married  Marie  Amelie,  daughter  of  Philippe,  Due  d'Orleans, 
Comte  de  Paris,  and  had  issue  two  sons,  Luis  Philippe,  Duke  of 
Braganza  (born  1887),  and  Manuel  (born  1889).  On  Charles  Fs 
coming  to  the  crown,  republican  sympathies  and  aspirations  in  the 
kingdom  were  exercised  over  the  dethronement  in  Brazil  of  the 
king's  great  uncle,  Emperor  Pedro  III,  and  the  reversion  of  the 
country  to  the  status  of  a  republic.  Beyond  a  flutter  in  democratic 
circles  in  Lisbon  and  Oporto,  Portugal,  however,  remained  loyal 
to  monarchy,  thanks  to  the  popular  representative  institutions 
which  the  country  at  last  enjoyed  and  in  spite  of  the  strong  social- 
istic element  in  the  chief  cities,  which  fortunately  was  not  now 
revolutionary  in  character. 

The  government  is  still  according  to  the  "Constitutional 
Charter  granted  by  Pedro  IV  in  1826,  though  altered  by  the 
Cortes  in  1852,  in  1885,  and  in  1896,  and  with  electoral  reforms  and 
a  remodeling  of  the  house  of  peers  dating  from  1895.  Like  Spain 
a  hereditary  monarchy,  Portugal  recognizes  descent  in  the  female 
line.  The  government,  in  addition  to  the  legislative,  executive,  and 
judicial  functions,  includes  a  "moderating"  power  vested  in  the 
sovereign. 


540  SPAIN     AND     PORTUGAL 

1869-1907 

Primary  education  is  compulsory  by  law,  but  the  law,  it  must 
be  admitted,  is  not  enforced,  and  of  the  children  of  the  lower  classes 
only  a  small  percentage  can  be  said  to  be  regular  school  attendants. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the  state  religion,  but  all  forms  of 
worship  are  tolerated. 

To-day  continental  Portugal  consists  of  six  natural  provinces, 
with  the  Azores  and  Madeiras,  considered  as  an  integral  part  of 
the  kingdom,  making  eight  provinces  in  all,  and  an  area  of  35,490 
square  miles.  The  northern  provinces  may  be  said  to  be  more 
flourishing  than  the  southern,  but  a  glance  at  the  statistics  of  recent 
years  shows  conclusively  that  the  natural  wealth  of  the  little  coast- 
clinging  country  has  by  no  means  been  made  use  of.  Nearly  46 
per  cent,  of  the  acreage  is  reported  as  waste,  and  the  estimate  for 
pasture  and  fallow  lands  represents  another  26.7  per  cent.  Wide 
tracts,  it  is  asserted,  lie  neglected  but  capable  of  profitable  cultiva- 
tion. On  the  other  hand  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  country  is  at 
serious  disadvantage  in  its  lack  of  adequate  coal  supply  and  the 
general  scarcity  of  fuel.  Though  rich  in  other  and  rarer  minerals 
the  lack  of  coal  which  in  general  regulates  the  cheapness  of  trans- 
portation facilities,  accounts  in  large  part  for  the  lack  of  develop- 
ment of  the  country's  natural  resources. 

In  1904  a  cabinet  crisis  occurred  over  the  question  of  sending 
an  expedition  against  the  natives  rebelling  in  Portuguese  South 
Africa.  Castro  became  premier  and  under  him  was  formed  a  new 
administration.  In  November  a  treaty  was  signed  with  China, 
looking  to  commercial  relations  with  Macao  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Canton  River.  In  the  same  year  an  arbitration  treaty  was  signed 
with  Great  Britain  and  another  with  the  United  States  of  Americai 
On  the  whole,  but  little  remains  to  be  chronicled  of  Portuguese  his- 
tory for  the  last  few  years.  The  visits  of  the  sovereign  to  .King 
Edward  VII  of  England,  in  1902,  and  again  in  1904,  and  his  own 
exchange  of  courtesies  with  President  Loubet  of  France  in  1905, 
are  of  importance  only  as  indicating  the  cordial  relations  now 
existing  between  Portugal  and  the  European  nations. 

At  the  beginning  of  1907,  there  were  no  funds  on  hand  to  meet 
the  expenses  of  the  state,  and  the  government  brought  into  play 
the  unwritten  law  which  allows  the  king  to  carry  on  afiFairs,  for 
at  least  three  years,  without  summoning  a  parliament.  In  May, 
1907,  the  premier,  Dom  J.  F.  C.  Franco,  attempted  to  allay  the  pop- 
ular excitement  caused  by  this  action  of  the  king  with  a  statement 


I 


CONSTITUTIONAL    MONARCHY       541 

1989-1910 

that  his  administrative  dictatorship  was  but  temporary,  and  when 
the  various  political  parties  had  learned  to  work  in  unison  a  parlia- 
ment would  be  summoned.  The  newspapers  in  the  towns  started 
an  agitation  against  Premier  Franco,  who  in  return,  with  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  king,  forbade  any  criticism  of  the  government  and  sup- 
pressed those  newspapers  which  violated  the  decree.  General  elec- 
tions were  promised  by  the  government  for  the  early  part  of 
March,  1908. 

But  on  February  i,  1908,  as  King  Carlos  and  Queen  Amalia 
were  driving  from  the  railway  station  to  the  palace  with  their  two 
sons,  several  shots  were  fired  at  the  party  by  assassins,  and  the 
king  and  the  crown-prince  were  both  killed.  Many  believe  that  the 
rule  of  Premier  Franco  was  the  aggravation  liiat  caused  the  assas- 
sination. 

The  king's  second  son,  Prince  Manuel,  succeeded  to  the  throne 
under  the  title  of  Manuel  II.  Premier  Franco  resigned  and  left 
the  country.  A  new  ministry  was  formed  under  Admiral  Ferreira 
de  Amaral,  an  Independent.  By  the  end  of  February  all  the  repres- 
sive measures  of  Franco  were  repealed.  The  elections  were  held 
as  previously  promised  and  were  the  cause  of  some  rioting  in  Lis- 
bon. The  Cortez  was  summoned  on  April  29.  In  August  was 
passed  a  tariff  bill  doubling  the  duties  on  articles  from  countries 
which  discriminated  against  Portugal.  On  December  21,  the 
municipal  council  of  Lisbon  discovered  that  $7,000,000  of  the  city's 
funds  had  been  misappropriated.  The  friends  of  Franco  took  ad- 
vantage of  this  scandal  to  reorganize,  and  on  December  23,  1908, 
a  new  ministry  was  formed  with  Pereira  de  Lima,  a  former  minis- 
ter of  foreign  affairs,  as  premier. 

In  1909  the  question  of  the  young  king's  marriage  was  upper- 
most in  interest  in  the  affairs  of  Portugal. 

The  new  progressive  cabinet  formed  on  December  22,  1909,  was 
headed  by  Senor  Beisao,  and  met  with  popular  approval.  The  most 
important  matter  before  it  during  the  latter  part  of  1909  and  early 
part  of  1910  was  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  lines  of  ]\Iacao,  the 
seaport  on  the  Chinese  coast,  which  it  has  occupied  since  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  China  having  refused  to  submit  the 
question  to  arbitration,  Portugal  is  equally  determined  not  to  adjust 
the  difficulty  this  way  and  it  still  (loio)  remains  unsettled.  Portu- 
gal, too,  suffered  from  the  lu-av}'  storms  during  the  latter  part  of 
1909,  but  not  as  seriously  as  Prance. 


542         CONSTITUTIONAL     MONARCHY 

1889-1910 

Of  recent  years  the  kingdom  has  lost,  in  the  way  of  emigra- 
tion to  old  colony  of  Brazil,  many  thousands  of  its  enterprising  pop- 
ulation, who  thus  seek  to  escape,  with  other  financial  exactions,  the 
burdensome  taxation  imposed  to  meet  interest  on  the  large  national 
debt,  and  at  the  same  time  live  under  prosperous  conditions  in  "a 
greater  Portugal,"  as  Brazil  is  admiringly  termed. 

The  kingdom's  loss  in  population  to  its  other  colonies  has  not 
been  great,  though  their  founding  and  maintenance  (if  we  except 
the  rich  but  now  independent  Brazil)  has  cost  the  mother  country, 
first  and  last,  a  large  amount  of  money.  The  dependencies  now 
left  to  her  are  situated  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and  include  Goa,  on  the 
Malabar  coast;  Danao,  on  the  coast,  one  hundred  miles  north  of 
Bombay,  with  the  small  island  of  Diu,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  west  of  Danao.  The  trade  of  these  possessions  is  chiefly 
with  some  adjacent  islands,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Canton  River. 
Their  trade  is  mainly  in  Chinese  hands,  and  consists  of  the  now 
dwindling  exports  of  opium.  She  also  owns  Timor,  a  Portuguese 
settlement  on  the  eastern  section  of  the  island  of  that  name  in  the 
Malay  Archipelago,  with  a  small  island  attached.  The  chief  prod- 
ucts here  are  coffee  and  wax.  Another  dependency  is  Portuguese 
Guinea,  on  the  coast  of  Senegambia,  with  the  adjacent  archipelago 
of  Bijagoz,  and  the  island  of  Bolamo.  From  the  chief  port,  that 
of  Bissau,  are  exported  wax,  rubber,  oil  seeds,  hides,  and  ivory. 
Portugal  owns  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  the  capital  of  which  is 
Praia,  with  a  considerable  trade,  together  with  the  islands  of  St. 
Thomas  and  Prince,  the  combined  provinces  of  which  are  under  a 
governor.  Angola,  in  the  Congo  region  of  Western  Africa,  with 
over  a  thousand  miles  of  coast  line,  the  capital  of  which  is  St.  Paul 
de  Loanda,  is  another  possession  of  Portugal.  Angola  has  470 
miles  of  railway  open  with  a  system  of  telegraphs  and  is  rich  in 
mineral  wealth,  besides  its  export  trade  in  rubber  and  coffee.^  In 
Portuguese  East  Africa,  with  the  three  districts  of  Mozambique, 
Zambesi,  and  Lourengo  Marques,  the  nation  has  an  important 
dependency,  with  a  trade  in  rubber,  wax,  ivory,  and  various  ores. 
The  colony  has  also  the  modern  adjuncts  of  railways  and  about  a 
thousand  miles  of  telegraph  line.  The  combined  area  of  all  these 
colonial  possessions  is  802,952  English  square  miles,  with  a  popnla- 

'  Recent  authors,  notably  among  them  Henry  W.  Nevison,  claim  that  slave 
traffic  with  the  neighboring  islands,  under  disguise  of  '"  contract  labor,"  is  a  source 
of  enormous  revenue  to  Portuguese  traders  in  Angola. 


SPAIN    AND     PORTUGAL  642a 

1889-1910 

tion  estimated  to  exceed  9,000,000,  chiefly  natives.  Few  of  them, 
however,  do  more  than  pay  the  cost  of  their  local  administration, 
and  can  therefore  hardly  be  deemed  valuable  to  the  motherland.  In 
Africa  her  sons  have  been  adventurous  in  undertaking  exploration, 
and,  like  Serpa  Pinto,  have  accomplished  not  a  little  in  penetrating 
and  opening  up  vast  sections  of  the  Dark  Continent.  In  doing  so, 
the  question  of  international  boundaries  has  frequently  come  up,  to 
the  embarrassment  of  the  kingdom  and  its  local  representatives. 
Mozambique  and  Angola,  as  historical  students  know,  were  origi- 
nally ports  of  call  for  the  pioneer  fleets  of  Portugal  on  their  ven- 
turesome early  voyages  to  India,  when  they  were  not  only  occu- 
pied by  her  sons,  but  strongly  fortified. 

As  a  modern  colonial  power,  Portugal,  the  nation  that  pro- 
duced Bartholomew  Diaz,  Magellan,  and  Vasco  da  Gama,  it  will 
be  seen,  has  a  respectable  status,  far  exceeding  that  now  of  her 
Peninsular  neighbor,  since  Spain,  by  the  war  with  the  United 
States,  has  been  shorn  of  her  colonial  possessions,  with  those  she 
parted  with  for  a  monetary  consideration  to  Germany.  Spain's 
possessions  abroad  are  now  confined  to  those  in  Africa,  which, 
though  nearly  244,000  square  miles  in  extent,  have  a  population  of 
only  136,000.  She  has  also  the  Canary  Islands,  which  for  admin- 
istrative purposes  are  considered  part  of  the  Spanish  kingdom, 
with  the  country  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  Muni  and  Campo,  but 
the  ownership  is  contested  by  France.  In  literature  and  art,  Spain, 
on  the  other  hand,  has  far  surpassed  Portugal  in  achievement,  if 
we  except  the  immortal  "  Lusiad  "  of  Camoens ;  though  in  archi- 
tecture she  makes  a  creditable  showing,  not  only  in  Lisbon,  but  in 
various  other  cities  of  the  kingdom,  especially  at  Cintra,  Braga, 
Evora,  and  Coimbra.  Nor,  comparatively  speaking,  is  she  so  de- 
cadent a  power  as  Spain,  while  her  people  are  far  less  turbulent 
and  treacherous.  What  licr  future  may  be  it  is  not  within 
human  power  safely  to  predict;  but  her  destiny  may  yet  be  a  hope- 
ful and  bright  one,  if,  with  righteousness  and  true  patriotism,  she 
pursues  the  paths  of  peace  and  of  progressive  national,  intellectual, 
and  economic  development. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


m 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  sources  of  Spanish  history  inckide  the  meager  chronicles  of  Christian 
ecclesiastics  and  the  more  elaborate  narratives  of  Moorish  historians.  Reliable 
accounts  from  the  Moorish  side  commence  with  the  collection  of  these  latter 
in  the  famous  "  Mohammedan  Dynasties,"  translated  by  Don  Pascual  de 
Gayangos.  The  chronicles  of  the  early  Christian  writers,  Isidorus  Paccnsis  (754 j, 
Sebastion  of  Salamanca  (866-910),  the  monks  of  Silas  and  Albelda  (881-883), 
etc.,  all  are  included  in  Florez's  monumental  work  "  Espana  Sagrada,"  which 
represents  what  now  remains  of  old  Spanish  history.  Fortunately  this  noble 
beginning  has  been  brought  down  continuously  to  1850,  constituting  now  a 
veritable  and  comparatively  virgin  mine  of  historic  richness.  The  chronicles  of 
Alfonso  X  and  his  successors  carry  the  record  to  Alfonso's  reign.  But  tb.e 
modern  spirit  of  investigation  may  be  said  to  have  only  just  begun  in  Spain. 
Voluminous  and  valuable  as  are  the  historic  documents  available,  unfortunately 
they  are  not  always  easily  accessible.  It  remains  for  a  future  historian  to  collect 
and  compare,  and  when  in  addition  the  scattered  and  ill-classified  material  to  be 
found  in  Spanish  archives  has  been  made  judicious  use  of,  we  may  look  for  what 
as  yet  does  not  exist  in  any  language, — a  full,  comprehensive,  sequential  history 
of  the  Spanish  Peninsula  and  its  people. 

GFx\ERAL    HISTORIES 

Burke,  Ulick  Ralph. — "  History  of  Spain  to  the  Death  of  Ferdinand."     2d  ed. 
(Hume).     New  York,  1900. 

One  of  the  most  useful  English  works. 
Hale,   Edward    Everett,   and    Ilale,    Susan. — "Spain"    (Story   of   the    Nations). 
New  York,  1899. 

Traces  the  successive  steps  from  Iberia  to  the  Spain  of  glory,  and  on  to  the 

Spain  of  our  own  day,  intentionally  avoiding  the  details  of  long  periods  in 

order  to  emphasize  the  important  steps  of  progress. 
Herculano,  Alexandra.—"  Historia  de  Portugal."  1848-1853. 

Based  on  careful  examination  and  comparison  of  contemporary  documents 

and  the  first  to  distinguish  fact  from  legend  in  the  early  history  of  Portugal. 
Hume,  M.  A.   S, — "  The   Spanish  People,  Their  Origin,  Growth  and   Influence." 

New  York,  1901. 
Lafuente,  Modcsta,  and  Valcra,  Juan.— -"  Historia  general  de  Iispana."     28  vols. 
Barcelona. 

Extends  from  the  death  f)f  King  h'crdinand  VH.  ami  ranks  among  the  best 

modern  histories  f)f  Spain. 
Lcmbke  and  Sduifcr.—  '  Ceseliiclite  von  Spanien."     3  vols.     Hamburg,  1831-1861. 

This  is  considered  by  scholars  the  best  general   history  of   Spain   ever  pub- 
lished, though  still  leaving  much  to  be  desired. 
Morse-Stephens,  li.—"  Portugal"    (Story  of  the  Nations).     New  York.   1890. 

One  of  the  bci^t  of  that  series  and  practically  the  only  really  good  modern 

general  Instory  of  Portugal. 
Oliveira-Martins.  j.  P.—"  Historia  de  Portugal."     5th  ed.     2  vols.     Lisbon,  1880. 

A  good  consecutive  narrative. 


546  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Parmcle,  Mary  Piatt. — "  A  Short  History  of  Spain."     New  York,  1898. 

Aims  at  exclusion  of  confusing  details ;  a  book  of  "  essentials,"  dealing  with 
the  main  facts  and  influences  of  development  and  with  little  attention  to 
incidents  by  the  way. 

SPECIAL  PERIODS  AND   PHASES 

Alfonso  X. — "Chronica  General." 

Compiled  and  partly  written  by  the  King.  The  earliest  book  of  any  im- 
portance in  the  Romance  or  Castilian  tongue,  with  a  literary  rather  than 
historic  value.  Alfonso's  example  was  followed  by  his  successors,  so  that 
the  chronicles  of  the  later  reigns  down  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  are  pre- 
served. 

Baumgarten,  Hermann. — "  Geschichte  Spaniens  vom  Ausbruch  des  franzosischen 
Revolution  bis  auf  unsere  Tage."    3  vols.     Leipsic,  1860-1871. 
For  its  period  this  work,  based  on  careful  research  and  attractively  written, 
has  no  rival  in  any  language. 

Ballaert,  William. — "  The  Wars  of  Succession  in  Portugal  and  Spain  from  1826 
to  1840;  wath  a  Resume  of  the  Political  History  of  Portugal  and  Spain 
to  the  Present  Time."    2  vols.    London,  1870. 
In   the    limited   bibliography    of   this    important    period    Ballaert's    volumes 
acquire  some  importance,  though  intrinsically  not  of  extraordinary  value. 

Brown,  J.  ]\I. — "  Historical  Review  of  the  Revolutions  of  Portugal  since  the  Close 
of  the  Peninsular  War." 

Collado,  M.  Danvilay. — "El  Poder  Civil  en  Espana."    6  vols.     Madrid,  1893. 
This  work,  dealing  with  the  growth  and  decay  of  civil  power,  possesses  the 
highest  value. 

Coppee,  Henry. — "  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Spain  by  the  Arab  Moors,  with 
a  Sketch  of  the  Civilization  They  Achieved  and  Imparted  to  Europe."     2 
vols.     Boston,  1881. 
Attractive  in  presentation  and   a  thoroughly  readable   account,   as   well   as 
extremely  interesting  and  important  in  subject. 

Coxe,  Archdeacon  William. — "  Memoirs  of  the  Kings  of  Spain  of  the  House  of 

Bourbon  from  the  Accession  of  Philip  V.  to  the  Death  of  Charles  HI. 

(1700-1788)."    2d  edition.     London,  1815.    5  vols. 

The  work  of  a  conscientious  historian,  prepared  after  great  labor  in  the 

field   of   original    investigation,   the   memoirs    have   hardly   been    shaken    in 

authority  by  more  recent  contributions  to  the  literature  of  the  period. 

Crawfurd,  Oswald. — "  Portugal,  Old  and  New."  London  and  New  York,  1880. 
An  important  addition  to  the  scanty  historical  literature  of  Portugal.  Its 
author  was  for  many  years  English  consul  at  Oporto,  and  his  close  observa- 
tions united  with  experienced  scholarship  to  produce  this  volume.  The 
value  of  the  book  is  much  increased  by  the  attention  given  to  literature  and 
the  life  of  the  people. 

Danvers,  C.  F. — "  The  Portuguese  in  India."     London,  1894. 

Furnishes  an  account  of  the  Portuguese  ascendancy  in  the  East  and  exhibits 
the  commercial  policy  of  Portugal. 

Dunlap,  John. — "  Memoirs  of  Spain  during  the  Reigns  of  Philip  IV.  and  Charles 
II.   (1621-1700)."     2  vols.     Edinburgh,  1834. 
Important  to  the  English  reader,  but  does  not  rank  with  the  larger  works  ia 
French  and  German. 

Elliot,  Frances  Minto. — "Old  Court  Life  in  Spain."     2  vols.     New  York,  1894. 
Vivid  pictures   of  historic  scenes   and  personages. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  547 

"La  Espana  del  Siglo  XIX."— t,  vols.     Madrid,  1885-1887. 

A  series  of  historical  essays,  originally  given  as  lectures  in  the  Atheneum  of 
Madrid. 

Fernald,  James  C— "  The  Spaniard  in  History."     New  York,  1898. 

The  author  believes  that  a  comprehension  of  the  leading  traits  of  Spanish 
character  will  afford  the  best  means  of  estimating  the  history  of  the  nation. 
His  book  is  limited,  therefore,  to  the  critical  moments  of  the  history  of 
Spain,  and  does  not  furnish  a  complete  chronology. 

Hume,  M.  A.  S.—"  Spain,  its  Greatness  and  Decay  (1479-1788)."  Cambridge, 
1897. 
Traces  the  working  out  of  historic  cause  and  effect  in  the  period  covering 
the  rise  and  decadence  of  Spain  and  the  commencement  of  its  "  fallacious 
resuscitation."  'Ilie  author  attempted,  and  has  succeeded  in,  absolute  impar- 
tiality, so  that  his  work  is  a  trustworthy  as  well  as  readable  account. 

"Modern  Spain.  1788-1898"   (Story  of  the  Nations).     New  York,  1900. 

The  story  of  the  Spanish  nation  during  a  century  of  struggle  upward  from 
mediccvalism. 

"The  Year  after  the  Armada  and  other  Historical   Studies."     New   York, 

1896. 
Makes  use  of  certain  previously  neglected  contemporary  sources  which  seem 
to  throw  fresh  light  on  important  periods.     The  vokune  contains  nine  essays. 

Irving,  Washington. — "  The  Conquest  of  Granada."     Many  editions. 

The  charm  of  Irving's  style  and  the  permanent  value  of  this  particular  work 
hardly  need  any  emphasis. 

James   I.,   King  of  Aragon. — The   Chronicles  of,   written   by   Himself.     Trans- 
lated from  the  Catalan  by  John  Forster,  with  Historical  Introduction,  etc., 
by  Pascual  de  Gayaugos.    2  vols.     London,  1883. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  historical  productions  of  the   13th  century,  pre- 
serving  a    simple,    manly    style,    without    pretense    to    elegance,    but    giving 
living  reality  to  the  multitudinous  events  of  a  long  and  agitated  reign. 

Jessett,  M.  G. — "The  Key  to  South  Africa:  Delagoa  Bay."     London.  1900. 

Johnston,  Sir  Harry. — "  The  Colonization  of  Africa."     Cambridge,   1899. 

The  part  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  development  of  Africa,  and  the  commer- 
cial-colonial policy  of  the  nation  may  be  followed  in  these  two  books. 

Lacroix,  Paul. — "  Bcautcs  de  I'liistoire  de  la  domination  dcs  Arabes  ct  dc  Manrcs 
en  Espagnc  et  en  Portugal."     1824. 

Landmann,    George. — "  Historical,    ■Military,    and    Picturesque    Observations    on 
Portugal."     London,  1818.     2  vols. 
The  descriptive  part  is  more  attractive  and  more  valuable  than  tiie  historical, 
but  the  work  as  a  whole  has  been  superseded  by  Crawfurd's. 

Lane-Poole,    S.,   and    Gilman,    A. — "Story   of   tlie   Moors   in    Spain"    (Story   of 
the  Nations).     New   York,   189 1. 
Popular  in  treatment  and  very  good. 

Latimer,   Elizabeth   Wormelev. — "  Spain    in   the    Nineteenth   Century."      Chicago. 

1897. 
Offers   the   reader   a   general    survey    of   the    period    witliin    its    title    linn'ts. 
Relying  entirely  upon  contemporary  sources,  Miss  Latimer's  vohmie  supplies 
the  first  continuous  history  of  Spain   in  the  last  century. 
MacMurdo,  M.  M.,  and  Montciro,  ^I, — "History  of  Portugal."     3  vols.     London, 
1888. 
Limited  to  the  period   from  Diniz  to   .Alfonso  V.     Practically  a  translation 
of  Herculano's  work. 
-Major,  R.  11. — "Prince  Henry  the  Navigator."     London,  1877. 


548  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Marliani,  M.  de. — "  Histoire  Politique  de  I'Espagne  Moderne,  suivie  d'un  Apcrgu 
sur  Ics  Finances."    2  vols.     Paris,  1840. 
Of  value,  but  hardly  equal  to  Baumgarten  on  the  same  period. 

Mariana,  J.  de. — "  Historia  General  de  Espana." 

In  point  of  style  Mariana  has  been  called  the  Spanish  Livy,  and  he  is 
regarded  as  the  national  historian  of  the  17th  century.  Ticknor  describes 
him  as  uniting  "  picturesque  chronicling  with  sober  history."  Writing 
before  the  era  of  "  scientific  history,"  Mariana  must  be  taken  as  a  model  of 
the  historian's  art  without  the  historian's  knowledge. 

Mazade,  Charles  de. — "  L'Espagne  Moderne."     Paris,  1855. 

A  descriptive  commentary  by  a  trained  student  of  political  conditions,  ten- 
dencies, and  events.     The  only  misfortune  is  that  it  covers  so  short  a  period. 

Medeiros,  Tavares  de. — "Das  Staatsrecht  des  Konigrcichs  Portugal."    Freiburg, 
1892. 

Mendes,  A.  Lopes. — "A  India  Portuguesa."    2  vols.     Lisbon,  1886. 

Meyrick,  F. — "  The  Church  in  Spain."     London,   1892. 

Mommsen;    Theodor. — "  Provinces    of    the    Roman    Empire."     Eng.    translation. 
New  York,  1887. 

Napier,  Sir  William  Francis   Patrick. — "  History  of  the  War  in  the   Peninsula 
and  the  South  of  France."    London,  1883. 
One  of  the  best  military  histories  in  literature  and  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
events  of  the  campaign. 

Oliveira-Martins,  J.  P. — "  Portugal  Contemporanes."    2  vols.     Lisbon,  1881. 

"  O  Brasil  e  as  colonias  portugtiezas."    Lisbon,  1888. 

"Portugal  em  Africa."     Porto,  1891. 

Prescott,  William  H. — "  History  of  the  Reign  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella."  3 
vols.  Philadelphia. 
It  was  Ticknor  who  introduced  Prescott  to  the  unworked  literary  wealth 
of  Spanish  history.  In  the  early  chapters  of  the  first  volume  Prescott 
excellently  summarizes  the  history  of  Spain  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Other 
chapters  furnish  good  accounts  of  Spain's  political  and  social  condition,  and 
the  chapter  on  the  Inquisition  is  an  admirable  sketch. 

"  History  of  the  Reign  of  Philip  II."     3  vols.     Philadelphia. 

Although  never  completed  (in  vol.  iii  the  account  reaches  1580),  this  work 
has  been  lauded  justly,  not  only  for  its  value  as  literature,  but  for  its  true 
historian  spirit  and  "tolerant  and  dispassionate  judgment." 

Scott,  S.  P. — "  History  of  the  IMoorish  Empire  in  Europe."     1904. 

Seignobos,  Charles. — "  Political  History  of  Contemporary  Europe."     New  York. 

Southey,  Robert. — "  Chronicle  of  the  Cid."     Translated  from  the  Spanish,  with 
an  introduction  by  Henry  Morley.     1894. 
"  The  Cid  "  is  as  much  history  as  literature. 

Strobel,  Edward  Henry. — "The   Spanish  Revolution,   1868-1875."     Boston,   1898. 
Covers  the  most  interesting  period  in  the  modern  history  of  Spain. 

Wallis,  S.  T. — "Spain,  Her  Institutions,  Politics,  and  Public  Men."  Baltimore,  1896. 

Watts,   H.   E. — "The   Christian  Recovery   of   Spain"    (Story  of  the   Nations). 
New  York,  1894. 
A  concise  and  judicious  summary  of  the  period  from  the  conquest  of  the 
Moors  to  the  fall  of  Granada. 

Whiteway,  R.  S. — "  Rise  of  the  Portuguese  Power  in  India."     London,  1899. 
Contributes  to  an  important  historic  and  economic  subject. 

Wilson,  H.  W. — "The  Downfall  of  Spain:  Naval  History  of  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War."     London,  1899. 

Yonge,    Charlotte    M. — "  The    Story    of   the    Christians    and    Moors    in    Spain." 
New  York,  1878. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  549 

Miss  Yonge  described  her  famous  book  as  an  effort  to  "  combine  in  a  gen- 
eral  view   Spanish   and   Moorish   histor}',   together  with   tradition,   romance, 
and  song."     Her  work  is  a  compilation  designed  to  give  a  surface  idea  to 
the  reader. 
Zimmerman.— "  DjV  Kolonialpolitik  Portugals  und  Spaniens."     Berlin,  1896. 

LITERATURE,  SCIENCE,  AND  ART 

Balagner,  V. — "  Ilistoria  de  los  trovadores"     Madrid,  1888. 

Bermudez,  J.   A.   Cean. — "  Sumario  dc   la::  Antigiiedades  Romanas  en  Espana." 
Madrid,    1832. 
One  of  the  few  useful  and  reliable  works  on  the  important  subject  of  Spanish 
architecture. 

Bruyn,  Theophilo. — "  Antologia  Portugucca."     1876. 

"  Cancioneiro  Portuguez."     1876. 

Both   books   are   valuable,   and   the    learned    introductory   essays   will    repay 
close  reading. 

Clarke,    H.    Butler. — "  Spanish   Literature :    An    Elementary    Handbook."      New 
York,  1893. 
An  excellent  introduction  to  the  subject,  with  good  selections  from  Spanish 
authors.     Not  a  substitute  for  Ticknor,  but  in  every  respect  a  well-written 
compendium. 

Garcia,   Francisco   Blanco. — "  Literatura   Espanola   en   el  Siglo   XIX."     2   vols. 
Madrid,  1891. 
One  of  the  most  useful  volumes  for  the  modern  period,  and  a  good  supple- 
ment to  Ticknor's  volume. 

Grober. — "  Grimdriss   des  romanischcn  Philologic."     Strassburg,    1894. 

Vol.  II,  pt.  2,  of  Grober  contains  a  sketch  of  Portuguese  literature  by  Caro- 
lina Michaelis  de  Vasconcellas,  and  this  is  probably  the  best  account  as  yet. 

Justi,  Carl. — "Diego  Velasquez  and  His  Times."     Translated  by  A.   H.   Keanc. 
London,   1889. 
A  book  of  exceptional  value. 

Kelly,   James    Fitzmaurice. — "  A   History   of    Spanish    Literature."      New    York, 
1898. 

Lemcke,  E. — "  Handhuch  dcr  spanischcn  Littcratur."     Leipsic,   :856. 

Menendez  y  Pelayo. — "  Historia  dc  las  Ideas  Esieticas  en  Espana."    Madrid,  1886. 

"  La  Cienca  Espanola."    Madrid,  1889. 

These  volumes  furnish  exhaustive  bibliographies  of  Spani.sh  art,  philosopliy, 
and  science. 

Plummer,  Mary  Wright. — "Contemporary   Spain  as  Shown  by   Her   Novelists." 
London,  1899. 
Valuable  for  tlie  light  thrown  on  present  religious,  political  and  social  con- 
ditions. 

Sismondi,  J.  C.—"  Literature  of  Southern  luirope  "   (Roscoe).     New  York. 

Rivadeneyra. — "  Biblioteca  dc  auturcs  cspanolcs."     71  vols.     Madrid,  1846-1880. 
The  best  collection  of  the  Sfjanish  ckissics,  including  masterpieces  from  tiie 
earliest  times  down  to  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Stirling-Maxwell,   Sir  W. — "  Annals  of  the  Artists  of  Spain."     London,   i8<)i. 
Originally  published  in  1848,  tliis  work  has  held  its  rank  of  chief  importance 
for  many  years.     It  is  based  on  Bernuulcz's  "  Diccionario."  and  is  historically 
accurate. 

Ticknor,  Georcre. — "  History  of  Sp;misli  T.i'teratr.re."     41)1  ed.     Boston,  1871. 

In  point  of  vahie  Ticknor's  volunu'  takes  undisputed  first  place  among  his- 
tories of   Spanish  literature.     Critical  and  comprehensive,   it  is  undoubtedly 


550  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

tlie  most  useful  handbook  for  the  average  reader,  and  fully  covers  the  sub- 
ject before  the  nineteenth  century.  From  the  point  where  Ticknor  breaks 
off  only  modern  Spanish  authors  are  as  yet  available. 

TRAVEL   AND   DESCRIPTION 
Amicis,  Edmondo  de. — "  Spain  and  the  Spaniards."     New  York,   1892. 

Translated    from    the    Italian    by    Wilhelmina    Cady.      The    book    has    the 

charm  of  an  intimate  "  letters  home  "  style. 
Baedeker,  Karl. — "  Spain  and  Portugal."     2d  ed.     1901. 

The  Baedeker  guide  book  should  be  referred  to  by  the  reader  as  well  as 

traveler. 
Bates,  Katharine  Lee. — "  Spanish  Highways  and  Byways."     London,  1900. 

Records  the  impressions  of  a  traveler  awake  to  the  picturesque  and  poetic 

charm  of  the  Peninsula. 
Biddle,  A.  J.  D. — "The  Land  of  the  Wine"  (Madeira  Islands).     2  vols.     Phila- 
delphia, 1901. 
Blond,  Mrs.  A.  de. — "  Cities  and  Sights  of  Spain."     London,  1904. 
Borrow,  George. — "  The  Bible  in  Spain."     London,  1893. 

An  account  of  the  journeys,  adventures,  and  imprisonments  of  an  English 

missionary. 

"  The  Zincali :  An  Account  of  the  Gypsies  of  Spain."     London,  1901. 

Brown,  A.  S. — "  Madeira  and  the  Canary  Islands."     London,  1894. 
Chapman,  A.,  and  Buch,  W.  T. — "  Wild  Spain."     London,  1893. 

An  admirable  work  for  the  sportsman  and  naturalist. 
Crawfurd,  Oswald. — "  Round  the  Calendar  in  Portugal."    London,  1890. 
Elliot,  Frances  Minto. — "  Diary  of  an  Idle  Woman  in  Spain."     2  vols.     London, 

1884. 
Finch,  Henry  T. — "Spain  and  Morocco:  Studies  in  Local  Color."     New  York, 

1891. 
Hale,  E.  E. — "  Seven  Spanish  Cities  and  the  Way  to  Them."     1890. 
Hare,  A.  J.  C. — "  Wanderings  in  Spain."     6th  ed.     London,  1892. 
Hay,  John. — "  Castilian  Days."     Boston,  1882. 

Higgin,  J. — "  Spanish  Life  in  Town  and  Country."     New  York,  1903. 
Jaccaci,  Augu.st  F. — "  On  the  Trail  of  Don  Quixote."    New  York,  1896. 

A  record  of  rambles  in  the  ancient  province  of  La  Mancha.     The  book  is 

illustrated    (by  Daniel  Vierge),  which  considerably  increases   its  charm  of 

suggestion. 
Kennedy,  Bart. — "  A  Tramp  in  Spain  from  Andalusia  to  Andova."     1904. 
Lathrop,  George   Parsons. — "  Spanish  Vistas."     New  York,   1883. 

A  faithful  picture  of  Spain  as  seen  by  a  careful  observer.    Numerous  sketches 

from  life  contribute  to  a  vivid  impression. 
Rose,  H.  J. — "  Untrodden  Spain  and  Her  Black  Country."     New  York,  1875. 

■"  Among  the  Spanish  People."     New  York,  1877. 

Sellers,  C. — "  Oporto,  Old  and  New."     London,  1899. 

Smith,    F.    Hopkinson. — "  Well    Worn    Roads    of    Spain,    Holland,    and    Italy." 

Boston,  1886. 
Stoddard,  Charles  Augustus. — "  Spanish   Cities,  with  Glimpses  of  Gibraltar  and 
Tangier."     New  York,  1892. 

Of  unusual  value  as  a  record  of  travel  and  enhanced  by  the  attention  given 

to  historic  associations. 
Williams,  L. — "  The  Land  of  the  Dons."     London,  1902. 
Wood,  C.  W. — "Letters  from  Majorca."     London. 

"  The  Romance  of  Spain."     London,  1900. 

"  Glories  of  Spain."    London,  1901. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abazuza:  battle  of  (1873),  514 
Abdalkerim :    campaign   against   Alfonso 

the  Chaste,  "jt, 
Abdalla      ben      Abderahman :       revolts 

against       Alhakem,       72;       revolts 

against   Abderahman   II,  73 
Abdalla  ben   Abdelmelic :    his   campaign 

against  the  Gauls,  72 
Abdalla  ben   Balkin,   king  of  Granada : 

dethroned,  89 
Abdalla  ben  Humusqui :  defeats  the  Al- 

mohades,  95 
Abdalla  ben    Malchi :    campaign   against 

Alfonso  the  Chaste,  ^2) 
Abdalla  ben  Mohammed,  caliph  of  Cor- 
dova :   reign  of,  75 
Abdalla  ben  Mohammed  el  Zagai,  king 

of  Granada:  reign  of,  121 
Abdallah     Abu     Mohammed,     surnamed 

Aladel,    Mohammedan    ruler:    reign 

of,  102 
Abdelasis    ben   Muza :    his    campaign    in 

Spain,  51;  succeeds  to  command  in 

Spain,  63 
Abdelbar,  hagib  of  Granada :   revolt  of, 

119 
Abdelmelic,  governor  of  Seville:  crushes 

rebellion  of  Yussuf,  69 
Abdelmelic    ben    Cotan :    made    emir    of 

Spain,  65 
Abdelmelic  ben  Giafar,  surnamed  Amad 

Dola:  reign  of,  gi 
Abdelmelic      ben       Mohammed :      made 

regent  of  Cordova,  79 
Abdelmumen,   iraan   of   the    Almohades: 

reign  of,  95 
Abderahman   I,   caliph   of   Cordova :   his 

conquests   in  Catalonia,  219 
Abderahman    (11)    ben   Alhakem,  caliph 

of  Cordova :  reign  of,  "2, 
Abderahman      (III)      ben     Mohammed, 

caliph    of    Cordova:    reign    of,    'jb; 

campaign     against     Ordono     II     of 


Leon,  135;  invades  Navarre  C921 
A.  D.),  198 

Abderahman  (IV)  Almortadi,  caliph  of 
Cordova :  proclaimed  king,  81 

Abderahman  (V)  ben  Hixem,  caliph  of 
Cordova :  reign  of,  81 

Abderahman  ben  Abdalla :  made  emir  of 
Spain,  63 ;  his  campaign  against  the 
Franks,  64 

Abderahman  ben  Abdalla,  surnamed 
Almuda^far :  crushes  rebellion  of  his 
brothers,  76 

Abderahman  ben  Mohammed :  made 
hagib  of  Cordova,  79 

Abderahman  ben  Ocba :  at  siege  of  Cor- 
dova, 66;  at  battle  of  Calatrava, 
66;  made  caliph  of  Cordova,  67 

Aben  Aboo :  see  Diego  Lopez  ben 
Aboo 

Aben  Alafia,  emir  of  Mequinez:  cap- 
tures Fez,  76 

Aben  Alhamar :  see  Mohammed  I,  king 
of  Granada 

Aben  Dylnun,  king  of  Toledo:  besieges 
Cordova,  86 

Abrantes:  battle  of  (1176),  98 

Abu  Abdalla,  hagib  of  Granada:  mur- 
dered, III 

Abu  Abdalla  ben  Muley:  revolt  of,   121 

Abu  Abdalla  Mohammed  ben  Hud:  re- 
volts against  Moors,  102 

Abu  Amram :  his  campaigns  in  Anda- 
lusia, 97 

Abu  Bekir,  wali  of  Suz :  sent  against 
Mohammed  ben   Abdalla,  94 

Abu  Giafer,  king  of  Saragossa :  forms 
alliance  witli  Yussef,  90;  defeated 
by  Alfonso  I  of  Aragon.  91 

Abu  Mohammed  el  Baxir :  his  campaign 
against  Ali  lien  Yussef,  94 

Abu  Said:  conspiracy  of,  116;  usurps 
throne  of  Granada,  116 

Abu  Said,  king  of  Fez :  accession  of, 
117 

Abul  Cassem,  hagib  of  Granada:  nego- 


aJ3 


554 


INDEX 


tiates    the    surrender    of    Granada,      Aledran,  count  of  Barcelona:   reign  of, 


124 

Abul  Hassan,  wali  of  Carmona :  at  war 
with  the  Christians,  106,  114 

Abul  Melic  Abdelwahid,  Mohammedan 
ruler:  reign  of,  102 

Aden:  siege  of,  329 

Adrian  VI,  Pope:  acts  as  agent  for 
Charles  V  in  Spain,  339;  made 
regent  of  Castile,  346;  invested  with 
pontifical  crown,  350 

Adrian,  Roman  emperor:  condition  of 
Spain  under,  26 

Aemilanus,  St. ;  see  Milan,  St. 

Afranius,  campaigns  in  Spain,  22 

Agacucho:  battle  of  (1824),  519 

Agilan,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  40 

Agriculture :  in  ancient  Spain,  5 

Aix-la-Chapelle,  Treaties  of:  (1668), 
381;    (1748),  412 

Al  Raxid  ben  Mohammed:  advises  al- 
liance with  Alfonso  VI  of  Leon,  89 

Alarcon:  battle  of   (1195).  99,  I47,  204, 

Alaric     (son    of    Euric),    king    of    the 

Goths:  reign  of,  38 
Albaqui :      attempts     to     reconcile     the 

Moriscos   with    Philip   II   of   Spain, 

371 

Alberoni,  Giulio :  negotiates  marriage  of 
Philip  V  of  Spain,  404;  intrigues  of, 

405 
Albert,     Archduke :     made     regent     of 

Portugal,  453 
Albert  of   Austria:    Philip   II   of   Spain 

cedes  the  Low  Countries  to,  363 
Albuquerque,  Don :  career  of,  162 
Albuquerque,  Alfonso  dc :  his  voyage  to 

India,  327;  viceroy  of  India,  329 
Albuquerque,   Francisco  de :   his  voyage 

to  India,  327 
Alcagar  do   Sal:   sieges  of   (1158),  275; 

(1217),  278 
Alcagar  Seguer  (Alcazar-Seguer)  :  siege 

of    (1457),    315;    battle    of    (1578), 

445 
Alcala     de     Henares,     University     of: 

founded,  342 
Alcassim    ben     Hamad :     at    war    with 

Solyman,  80;  seizes  throne  of  Cor- 
dova, 81 
Ak-olea  Bridge:  battle  of  (1868),  508 
Akoraz  :  battle  of   (1096),  232 


Alexander  IV,  Pope:  supports  claims  of 
Alfonso  X  to  the  imperial  dignity, 
153;  issues  a  bull  against  Alfonso 
III  of  Portugal,  282 

Alexander  I,  emperor  of  Russia :  signs 
Peace  of  Tilsit,  485 

Alfarrobeira :  battle  of,  313 

Alfonso  I,  king  of  Aragon :  defeats  Abu 
Giafar,  91 ;  his  campaigns  against 
Moors,  95 ;  at  war  with  Leon  and 
Castile,  144;  accession  to  throne  of 
Navarre,  201 ;  accession  to  throne 
of  Aragon,  233 ;  death  of,  145 

Alfonso  II,  king  of  Aragon:  reign  of, 
236 

Alfonso  III,  king  of  Aragon :  reign  of, 
246 

Alfonso  IV,  king  of  Aragon:  reign  of, 
249 

Alfonso  (V)  the  Wise,  king  of  Aragon : 
attempts  to  reconcile  Juan  I  of 
Navarre  and  his  son,  214;  reign  of, 
262 

Alfonso  II,  king  of  Naples :  reign  of, 
269 

Alfonso,   count   of    Portugal :    reign    of, 

273 
Alfonso  I,  king  of  Portugal :   accession 

of,  97 ;  reign  of,  274 
Alfonso  II,  king  of  Portugal:  reign  of, 

278 
Alfonso    III,    king    of    Portugal :    made 

regent,  280 ;  reign  of,  281 
Alfonso  (IV)  the  Brave,  king  of  Portu- 
gal :  rebellion  of,  283 ;  reign  of,  284 
Alfonso  V,  king  of  Portugal :  aids  Cas- 

tilian  rebellion,   184;  reign  of,  310 
Alfonso  VI,  king  of  Portugal:  reign  of, 

464 
Alfonso    (I)    the  Catholic,  king  of  As- 

turias  and  Leon:  reign  of,  131 
Alfonso    (II)    the   Chaste,   king   of   As- 

turias  and  Leon :  revolt  of,  ^2 ;  reign 

of,  132 
Alfonso    (III)    the   Great,   king  of   As- 

turias     and     Leon :     at     war     with 

Mohammed  I,  74;  reign  of,  134 
Alfonso    (IV)    the   Monk,  king  of   As- 

turias  and  Leon:  reign  of,  136 
Alfonso  V,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon  : 

reign  of,  138;  death  of,  272 


INDEX 


655 


Alfonso  (VI)  the  Valiant,  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile :  at  war  with  the  Mo- 
hammedans, 87;  accession  to  throne 
of  Leon,  142;  accession  to  throne  of 
Castile,  143 ;  his  conquests  in  Portu- 
gal, 272 

Alfonso  (VII)  Raymond,  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile:  his  campaigns  against 
the  Saracens,  96;  reduces  Baeza,  97; 
made  lord  of  Galicia,  143;  reign  of, 
145 ;  his  invasions  of  Navarre,  202 ; 
forms  alliance  with  Raymundo  of 
Aragon,  236 

Alfonso  VIII,  king  of  Castile:  at  battle 
of  Alarcon,  99;  reign  of,  146 

Alfonso  IX,  king  of  Leon :  reign  of, 
147 ;  marries  Teresa  of  Portugal, 
277 

Alfonso  (X)  el  Sabio,  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile :  reign  of,  108,  152 

Alfonso  XI,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile : 
besieges  Gibraltar,  112;  campaign  of, 
against  Moors,  115;  reign  of,  158; 
at  war  with  Alfonso  IV  of  Portugal, 
284 

Alfonso  XII,  king  of  Spain:  birth  of, 
506;  reign  of,  514 

Alfonso  XIII,  king  of  Spain:  reign  of, 
517;  crowned,  521 

Alfonso,  son  of  Joam  II  of  Portugal: 
marries  Isabella  of  Castile,  324; 
death  of,  324 

Alfonso  Henriques :  takes  up  arms 
against  Alfonso  IV  of  Portugal, 
284 

Algeziras:  siege  of  (1342-1343),  115, 
209 

Alhakem  (I)  ben  Abdelmclic,  caliph  of 
Cordova :  reign  of,  72 

Alhakem  (II)  ben  Abderalnnan,  caliph 
of  Cordova  :   reign  of,  78 

Alhambra,  The:  built,  no;  captured  by 
the  Christians,  150 

Alhange :   siege  of   (917  a.  i).),   I35 

Alhaur  ben  Abderahman  :  made  emir  of 
Spain,  63 

AH  ben  Hamad:  at  war  with  Solyman, 
80;  proclaimed  king  of  IMoham- 
medan   Spain,  81 

Ali  ben  Yussef,  caliph  of  Cordova: 
reign  of,  91 

Alicante:   siege  of   (1691),  384 

Aljubarota:  battle  of   (13^^),   '74.  299 


Alkassim  ben  Abdalla :  rebellions  of,  76 
Almamum  Abu  Ali,  Mohammedan  ruler : 

reign  of,  102 
Almansor:  see  Mohammed  ben  Abdalla 
Almanza :  battle  of,  398 
Almeida,    Francisco    de,    viceroy   of   the 

Indies  :  reign  of,  328 
Almenara :  battle  of  (1710),  399 
Almeria :   siege  of   (1146),  236 
Almohades,   Dynasty   of:    established    in 

Spain,  97 
Almondhir   ben    Mohammed :   campaigns 

of,   against   Omar,   75 ;    reign   of,   75 
Almoravides,    Don    Garciade :    rebellion 

of,  208 
Almunecar :   battles   of    (755   a.  d.),   68; 

(1014),  80 
Alvaro  de   Luna:   made  constable,    176; 

fate  of.  179 
Alvara  Nufiez  de  Lara,  Count:  regent  of 

Castile,  149 
Alva,  hY'rnando  Alvarez  de  Toledo,  Duke 

of:  his  campaigns  in  Italy,  354;  his 

campaigns    in    the    Low    Countries, 

359 
Alxaman :     his     campaigns    against    the 

Christians,   129 
Amadeus    I,    king    of    Spain :    reign    of, 

512 
Amalaric,    Gotliic    king:    establishes    lii> 

court  in  Spain,  39;  marries  Clotilda, 

40 
Amiens.  Peace  of   (1802),  483 
Amsterdam  :  siege  of,  360 
Ana,   daughter   of   Philip   III   of   Spain: 

marries  Louis   XI II   of  France,  375 
Andeca,  king  of  the  Suevi :  consigned  to 

a  monastery,  42 
Andciro,    Joam     Fernando:     sketcii     of, 

293 
Angouleme,  Louis  Autoine  de   Bourbon, 
duke    of:    his    campaign    in    Spain, 

495 
Anjou,    Francis,    duke   of:    schemes    for 

the  throne  of  the  Netherlands,  361 
Anjou,  Rene,  duke  of:  clai:2is  tlironc  of 

Nai)les,  264 
Ante(iuera:   battle  of,    iio 
Antislius:  his  campaigns  in  Spain.  24 
Antoninus     Pius:     condition     of     Spain 

under,  26,  29 
Antonio,      kintj      of      Portugal:      claims 

throne,  448;  proclaimed  kiiu',  450 


556 


INDEX 


Aragou,  Kingdom  of:   history  of,  230 
Aranda,    Pedro    Pablo   Abarca  y    Bolea, 

Conde  de :  administration  of,  420 
Armada,  The  Invincible:  destruction  of, 

364 

Arsilla:  siege  of,  316 

Artois,  Robert,  Count  d' :  his  campaign 
in  Navarre,  208 

Ast  irians:  description  of,  7 

Atace :  leads  the  invasion  of  the  Alans 
into  Spain,  35 

Ataide,  Luis  de :  made  viceroy  of  the 
Indies,  458 

Ataide,  Nuno  Fernandos  de :  campaigns 
of,  in  Africa,  334;  death  of,  335 

Ataide,  Pedro  de:  attempts  to  assassi- 
nate Joam  II  of  Portugal,  321 

Atapuerca:  battle  of   (1054),  200 

Ataulphus:  leads  Gothic  invasion  of 
Spain,  36 

Athalaric,  Gothic  king:  succeeds  Theo- 
doric  II,  39 

Athanagild,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign 
of,  40,  50 

Attila,  king  of  the  Huns :  leads  invasion 
of  Spain,  38 

Augustus,  Roman  emperor:  condition  of 
Spain  under,  24 

Augustus,  duke  of  Leuchtenberg :  mar- 
ries Maria  II  of  Portugal,  537 

Aumale,  Mademoiselle  d' :  marries  Al- 
fonso VI  of  Portugal,  467 ;  marries 
Pedro  II  of  Portugal,  468 

Aurelio  (Aurelius),  king  of  Asturias 
and  Leon:  reign  of,  131 

Austerlitz:  battle  of   (1805),  484 

Aveiro,  Joam  Alfonso  de:  explorations 
of,  323 

Ayub  ben  Habib :  becomes  emir  of 
Spain,  63 

Azamor:  siege  of  (15 13),  333 

Azcarraga,  General :  ministry  of,  521 

Azis  ben  Abdelmclic,  wall  of  Lorca : 
refuses  to  acknowledge  supremacy 
of  Castile,  104 


B 


Raeza:  siege  of  (1146),  97,  236 

Baleg  ben  Bakir:  expelled  from  Africa, 

65 ;  his  campaigns  in  Spain,  66 
Barcelona :   captured   by  Christians    (801 

A.I).).   2ig;    sieges    of    (i6gi),   384; 


(1694).  384;  (1705),  395;  (X7r4). 
402 

Barreto,  Francisco :  viceroy  of  the  In- 
dies, 437 

Basel,  Treaty  of   (1795),  482 

Beatrix  of  Portugal :  marries  Juan  I  of 
Castile,  173,  291 ;  proclaimed  queen 
of  Portugal,  295 

Beatrix  de  Guzman :  marries  Alfonso 
III  of  Portugal,  281 

Beaumarchais,  Eustace  de :  made  gov- 
ernor of  Navarre,  207 

Belisarius :    captures   the   Balearic   Isles, 

53 

Ben  Alarabi :  sends  embassy  to  Char- 
lemagne. 70,  218 

Bera,  count  of  Barcelona:  reign  of,  219 

Berengaria,  queen  of  Castile :  marries 
Alfonso  IX  of  Leon,  148;  regent  of 
Castile,   149 

Berengaria  of  Navarre :  marries  Richard 
I  of  England,  203 

Berengario  I,  count  of  Barcelona :  reign 
of,  226 

Berengario,  brother  of  Raymundo  III 
of  Barcelona :  attempts  to  gain  the 
fief  of  Barcelona,  226 

Berlin  Decrees :  issued,  484 

Bemohi,  king  of  the  Jalofs :  forms  al- 
liance with  Joam  II  of  Portugal, 
323 

Bermudez,  Gonzalo :  encourages  Mo- 
hammedan invasion  of  Leon,  138 

Bermudo  (Veremundo)  I,  surnamed 
the  Deacon,  king  of  Asturias  and 
Leon :  reign  of,  132 

Bermudo  (Vermundo)  II,  king  of  As- 
turias and  Leon :  reign  of,  137 

Bermudo  (Vermundo)  III,  king  of 
Asturias  and  Leon:  reign  of,  139; 
at  war  with  Ferdinand  of  Castile, 
200 

Bernard,  Atto,  viscount  de  Beziers : 
usurps  the  fief  of  Carcassonne,  227 

Bernardo,  count  of  Barcelona :  reign  of, 
220 

Bertram  de  la  Cueva:  his  campaign 
against  the  French,  349 

Berwick,  James  Fitzjames,  Duke  of: 
commands  French  army  in  Spain, 
393;   invades   Spain,   406 

Betrand  du  Guesclin:  joins  conspiracy 
against  Pedro  the  Cruel,  166 


INDEX 


557 


Bilbao:  siege  of  (1835),  497 

Blanche,  queen  of  Navarre:  regent  for 

Jeanne,   207;    reign    of,    212;    made 

regent  of  Sicily,  259;  marries  Juan 

II    of    Aragon,    261 ;    accession    to 

throne  of  Navarre,  263 
Blanche  de  Bourbon :  marries  Pedro  the 

Cruel,    161;    imprisonment    of,    163; 

death  of,  165 
Bonaparte,     Joseph :      made     king     of 

Naples,   486;    made   king  of    Spain, 

486,  528 
Bonaparte,  Louis :  made  king  of  Naples, 

486 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon:  see  Napoleon  (I) 

Bonaparte 
Boniface    VIII,    Pope:    attempts    to    ar- 
range   relations    between    Jayme    II 

of   Aragon   and   Charles  of   Anjou, 

247 
Boniface  IX,  Pope :  foments  rebellion  in 

Sardinia,  259 
Boniface,  Raymond :  at  the  siege  of  Se- 
ville (1247),  106 
Bonnivet,    Guillaume    Gouflfier    de :    his 

campaigns  in  Spain,  349 
Borba,   Francisco   Coutinho  de :   defeats 

Moors,  324 
Bordeaux:  siege  of  (1130),  234 
Borello,   count  of   Barcelona :    reign   of, 

225 
Bourbon,  House  of:  rules  in  Spain,  386 
Braganza,  House  of:  rules  in  Portugal, 

462 
Braganza,    Alfonso,    Duke    of:    created 

duke,    312;    leader    of    discontented 

nobles,  319 
Braganza,  Constantine  de :  viceroy  of  the 

Indies,  458 
Braganza,  Joam,  Duke  of:  see  Joam  IV, 

king  of  Portugal 
Braso,  Gonsalez :   administration  of,  508 
Brazil :    discovered,   326,   459 ;    wins    her 

independence,  519,  534 
Brihuega :  battle  of  (1710),  399 
Bull-fights  in  ancient  Spain,  5 
Burgos:  battle  of  (1054).  141 
Burgoyne,  John  :  his  campaign  in  Spain, 

473 
Ruriana:  siege  of  (1233),  241 
P)Usaco:  battle  of  (1S09),  48(1 
Byng,    John:     defeats     Spanisli    off    the 

SiciHan  coast,  406 


Cabral,  Costa,  count  of  Thomar :  desires 
the  revival  of  the  Oporto  Charter, 

537 
Cabral,  Pedro  Alvares:  discovers  Brazil, 

326 
Cadiz:    founded,    12;    captured    by    the 

Carthaginians,    13;    surrendered    to 

the    Romans,    18;    captured    by    the 

allied  forces    (1702),  391 
Caenza:  siege  of  (1176),  98 
Caesar,  Caius  Julius :   his  campaigns  in 

Spain,  22 
Cagliari :  siege  of  (1326),  249 
Calat   Anosor    (Calatanazar)  :    battle   of 

(looi),  78 
Calatrava:  battle  of  (736),  66;  siege  of 

(1212),  100 
Calderon,    Rodrigo :    administration    of, 

374 
Calib  ben  Omar :  at  war  with  Almond- 

hir,  75 
Caligula,     Caius :     condition     of     Spain 

under,  25 
Cam,  Jayme:  explorations  of,  323 
Cantabres :  description  of,  8 
Cape  Finisterre:  battle  of   (  1S05),  484 
Cape    St.    Vincent:    battles    of     (1381), 

173;   (1797),  483 
Carcassonne :  siege  of,  39 
Carisius :  his  campaigns  in  Spain,  25 
Carlist    Revolts:     (1833).    497;     (1851). 

503;   (1859),  507;   (1873).  513 
Carlos    (Charles)    I,   king   of   Portugal: 

reign  of,  539 
Carlos  I,  king  of  Spain:  see  Charles  V, 

Holy  Roman  emperor 
Carlos  II,  king  of  Spain:  reign  of,  380; 

summary     of     condition     of     Spain 

lunler,  427 
Carlos  111.  king  of  Spain:  birth  of.  405; 

invested     with     Naples     and     Sicily, 

409;    accession    to    Spaiii^h    throne, 

414;  sununary  of  condition  of  Spain 

under,  4J1) 
Carhw   IV,   king   of   Portugal;    reign   of, 

481 
Carlos    V.    Don:    rrhellioiis    of,   41/),    j^i)y 
Carlos  VII,  Don:  cl.-iini-;  throne.  514 
Carlos,  sou   of    Philip    11    of  Spain:    fate 

of.  3;-' 
Carlotta,     dauyhter     oi     Carlos     III     of 


558 


INDEX 


Spain:  marries  Joam  VI  of  Portu- 
gal, 418;  intrigues  of,  534 

Carmona:  sieges  of  (713  a.  D.),  5^'> 
(1052),  86;  (1246),  106 

Carrion:  battle  of  the  (1037),  140 

Carthaginians :  in  Spain,  13 

Carthagena :  siege  of,  18 

Carvajal,  Josef  de:  policy  of,  413 

Cassius  Longinus,  Caius :  in  command  in 
Spain,  23 

Castelar,  Emilio :  president  of  the  repub- 
lic, 513;  sketch  of,  518 

Castillo,  Canovasdel :  made  prime  min- 
ister, 514;  death  of,  518 

Castro :  becomes  premier,  540 

Castro,  Joam  de :  viceroy  of  the  Indies, 
436 

Catalan  Insurrection,  378 

Catherina  of  Portugal :  marries  Charles 
II  of  England,  465 

Catherine  of  Aragon :  marriages  of,  187 

Catherine,  queen  of  Navarre :   reign  of, 

215 

Cea:  siege  of  (1055),  141 

Celestine  III,  Pope:  orders  dissolution 
of  marriage  of  Alfonso  IX  of  Leon 
and  Theresa  of  Portugal,  147 

Celtiberians :  origin  of,  3 ;  description  of, 
II 

Celts :  invade  Spanish  peninsula,  3 

Cervera  y  Topete,  Pascual :  at  battle  of 
Santiago,  520 

Ceuta:  sieges  of  (1415),  301;  (1464). 
316 

Chalons:  battle  of,  38 

Charlemagne :   invades  Spain,  69,  132 

Charles  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  see 
Charlemagne 

Charles  (I)  the  Bald,  Holy  Roman  em- 
peror: education  of,  221 

Charles  V,  Holy  Roman  emperor :  birth 
of,  188;  acknowledged  as  heir  of 
Castile,  igi;  accession  to  Spanish 
throne,  339 ;  accession  to  the  im- 
perial throne,  343;  marries  Isabel 
of  Portugal,  350 ;  resigns  crowns, 
351 ;  death  of,  352;  summary  of  con- 
dition of  Spain  under,  423 

Charles  VI,  Holy  Roman  emperor:  at 
war  with  Spain,  388 ;  accession  to 
imperial   throne,  400 

Charles  I,  king  of  luigland  :  visits  Spain, 
T,7C):  concludes  treaty  with  Joam  IV 
of  Portugal.  462  note 


Charles  I,  king  of  France:  see  Charle- 
magne 

Charles  V,  king  of  France :  aids  Enrique 
II  against  Pedro  the  Cruel,  166 

Charles  VIII,  king  of  France:  concludes 
treaty  with  Philip  the  Handsome, 
189;  his  relations  with  Ferdinand 
the  Catholic,  190,  268 

Charles  (II)  le  Mauvais,  king  of  Na- 
varre: reign  of,  210 

Charles  (III)  the  Noble,  king  of  Na- 
varre :  reign  of,  212 

Charles  I,  king  of  Spain :  see  Charles  V, 
Holy  Roman  emperor 

Charles  II,  HI,  IV,  V,  and  VII,  of 
Spain:  see  Carlos  II,  III,  IV,  V, 
and  VII 

Charles  XII,  king  of  Sweden :  forms  al- 
liance with  Philip  V  of  Spain,  406 

Charles,  prince  of  Viana:  revolt  of,  213 

Charles  Martel :  at  Battle  of  Tours,  64 

Charles  (I)  of  Anjou,  king  of  the  Two 
Sicilies :  reign  of,  244 

Chile:  wins  her  independence  from 
Spain,  519 

Chintila,  king  of  the   Goths:    reign    of, 

44 
Choiseul    or    Choiseul-Amboise,    fitienne 

Frangois,    Duke    de:    expels   Jesuits 

from  France,  419 
Cisneros,     Ximines:     made     regent     of 

Spain,  339 
Claudius :   condition  of  Spain  under,  25 
Clement  VI,   Pope :   attempts  to  restore 

peace  between  Pedro  IV  of  Aragon 

and  Jayme  of  Majorca,  254 
Clement   XIV,    Pope:    refuses   to   allow 

Jesuits  to  settle  in  Italy,  419 
Clinton,    Sir    William:    keeps    order    in 

Portugal,  535 
Clotilda,    daughter    of    Clovis:    marries 

Amalaric,  40 
Clovis,  king  of  the  P'ranks :  in  war  with 

the  Goths,  39 
Cochin :  siege  of,  470 
Coelho,  Pedro :   deatli  of,  289 
Coepio,  Quintus:  his  campaign  in  Spain, 

19 
Coimbra:  siege  of  (1058),  142;  battle  of 

(1810),  530 
Coimbra,  University  of:  modernized,  526 
Colonna,    Marco    Antonio:    at   battle    of 

Lepanto,  355 


INDEX 


559 


Columbus,  Christopher:  voyages  of,  i86 
Conancio:  encourages  Mohammedan  in- 
vasions of  Leon,   138 
Concha,  Manuel,  Marquis  of  Duero:  in 

Carlist  revolt,  514 
Conradin,  son  of  Conrad  IV  of  Sicily: 

rebellion  of,  244 
Constanga,     daughter     of     Manfred     of 

Sicily:   marries   Pedro  III   of  Ara- 

gon,  243 
Constans :  his  campaign  in  Spain,  35 
Constantine    the     Great:     condition     of 

Spain  under,  28 
Constantius :    his    campaign    against    the 

Goths,  36 
Constanza,    daughter    of    Pedro    IV    of 

Aragon:  declared  heir  to  throne,  251 
Copenhagen:  battle  of  (1801),  529 
Cordova:  sieges  of  (711  ad.),  50;   (736 

A.D.),   65;    (755    A.D.),  68;    (1060), 

86;     (1145),    97;    battle    of    (1089), 

225 
Corunna:  battle  of   (1809),  486,  529 
Coutinho,    Vasco:    warns    Joam    II    of 

Portugal  against  conspirators,  321 
Covilham,    Pedro    de :    explorations    of, 

322 
Cuesta:  at  Battle  of  Talavera,  530 
Cunha,  Nuno  da :  viceroy  of  the  Indies, 

434 
Cunha,    Pedro   Vas    da:    sent   to   make 
conquests  in  Africa,  323 


D 


Dalrymple,  Sir  Hew :  concludes  conven- 
tion of  Cintra,  529 
Daroca :  battle  of  (1120),  233 
Davalos,  Fernando :  arrested,  346 
Dewey,    George :     at    battle    of    ^Manila 

Bay,  520 
Dias,     Count     Diego :     takes     up     arms 
against   accession   of   Ferdinand    II 1 
of  Castile,   151 
Dias  de  Haro,  Lojic  :  career  of,  157 
Diaz,    Bartholomeo :    discovers   tlie   Cape 

of  Good   Hope,  323 
Didius:  defeated  l)y  Sertorius,  20 
Diego,  prince  of  Visco :  schemes  for  the 

throne  of  Portugal,  320 
Diego   Alguazil :   plots   ruin   of    Moham- 
med ben  Hiuncya,  370 


Diego  Gomez,  Don :  at  battle  of  Sepul- 

veda,  144 
Diego    Lopez    ben    Aboo    (Muley    Ab- 

dalla)  :    leader    of    Morisco    revolt, 

367;    submits,   369;    again   joins   the 

rebels,   370;    acknowledged  as   chief 

of  the  Moriscos,  370 
Diego   Nunez,   count   of  Castile :    revolt 

of,  136 
Dinis,     king     of     Portugal :     reign     of, 

282 
Diocletian :  persecutes  Christians,  31 
Diu:  sieges  of  (1529),  434;   (i537).  435 
Domitian :  condition  of  Spain  under,  26 
Domitius :  defeated  by  Sertorius,  20 
Doria,    Andrea:    at    battle    of    Lepanto, 

355 
Drake,  Sir  Francis :  his  depredations  on 

Spanish  possessions,  363 
Duarte    (Edward),    king    of    Portugal: 

reign  of,  304 
Dulce,   General:   rebels  against  Isabella 

II,  504 


Eboric,  king  of  the  Suevi :  consigned  to 
a  monastery,  42 

Edward  I,  king  of  England :  marries 
1-^leanor  of  Castile,  152;  forms  al- 
liance with  Alfonso  HI  of  Aragon, 
247 

Edward  HI,  king  of  England:  forms  al- 
liance witli  Charles  tlie  Bad  o{ 
Navarre,  210,  211 

Edward,  the  Black  Prince :  reinstates 
Pedro  the  Cruel,   167 

Edward :  see  Duarte 

h'gilona,  widow  of  Rodcric :  given  as 
hostage  to  the   Saracens,  52 

Egmont,  Count:  attempts  to  gain  the 
rcgenc}-  of  the  Low  CniuUrics.  357; 
arrested    .-md   executed,    t,^0 

l-'Jeanor  of  Castile:  marries  Edward  I 
of  I-'ngland,   152 

[•.leaTior  :  see  Leonora 

I'Jiott  or  l-'lliott,  George  Augustus:  de- 
fends Giliraltar   (1779),  417 

Elizabeth,  cjueen  of  luigland :  aids 
Henry  IV  of  IVance  against  Plulip 
H  of  Spain.  356;  aids  Protestant 
refugees  from  tlie  Netherlands,  3()o; 


560 


INDEX 


attempts  to  restore  Antonio  to  Por- 
tuguese throne,  454 

Elizabeth,  sister  of  Henry  II  of  France: 
marries  PhiHp  II  of  Spain,  355 

Elvas:  battle  of  (1659),  465 

Elvira,  Doiia,  abbess  of  San  Salvador 
convent :  regent  of  Leon,  137 

Enrique  (Henry)  I,  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile :  reign  of,  149 

Enrique  II,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile: 
proclaimed  king,  166 ;  his  second 
conquest  of  the  kingdom,  169;  reign 
of,  171 ;  at  war  with  Navarre, 
211 

Enrique  (III)  the  Infirm,  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile:  reign  of,   175 

Enrique  .(IV)  the  Impotent,  king  of 
Leon  and  Castile :  his  campaigns 
against  the  Moors,  120;  at  war  with 
Juan  II  of  Aragon,  178,  266;  reign 
of,  180 

Enrique,  Don,  brother  of  Alfonso  X : 
aids  Alfonso  X  to  crush  revolt  of 
nobles,  109 

Enrique,  Don,  brother  of  Pedro  the 
Cruel :   rebellions  of,   164 

Enrique,  Don,  infante  of  Aragon :  re- 
bellions of,  176,  177 

Ensenada,  Zenon  Silva,  Marquis  de : 
policy  of,  413 

Ermengaudo,  count  of  Urgel :  his  cam- 
paign against  the  Mohammedans, 
225 

Ermenigild,  career  of,  41 

Escovedo,    Juan    de :    assassination    of, 

272, 
Espartero,     Baldomero :     his     campaign 
against     the     Carlists,     497;     made 
regent   of    Spain,    500;    attempts    to 
restore  peaceful  relations  after  revo- 
lution of    1854,  505 
Estrees,  Cardinal  d' :  sketch  of,  392 
Eudes :  defeated  by  the  Saracens,  64 
Eugene  of  Savoy,  Prince :  his  campaigns 

in  Italy,  390 
Eugenius  III,  Pope:  opposes  Neapolitan 
policy    of    Alfonso    V    of    Aragon, 
264 
Eugenius  IV,  Pope :  recognizes  Alfonso 
V  of  Aragon  as  king  of  the  Two 
Sicilies,  265 
Euric,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  38 
Evora,  University  of :  founded,  449 


Fabius:  his  campaigns  in  Spain,  22 

Fadrique,  grand  master  of  Santiago: 
remonstrates  with  Pedro  the  Cruel, 
162;  death  of,  164 

Family  Compact  (Family  Treaty)  :  con- 
cluded, 414;  Portugal  joins,  416 

Farnese,  Alessandro,  duke  of  Parma : 
see  Parma,  Alessandro  Farnese, 
duke  of 

Favila,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon : 
reign  of,  130 

Felipe,  Don :  revolt  of,  108 ;  becomes 
regent  for  Alfonso  XI,  159 

Ferag  ben  Ferag:  leader  of  Morisco  re- 
volt, 367 

Fernan  Gonsalez,  count  of  Castile:  re- 
volt of,  136 

Fernando  de  Valor:  see  Mohammed 
ben  Humeya 

Ferdinand  (I)  the  Just,  king  of  Aragon 
and  of  Sicily :  accession  to  throne  of 
Aragon,  260 

Ferdinand  II,  king  of  Aragon :  see 
Ferdinand  V,  king  of  Spain 

Ferdinand  I,  king  of  Naples :  declared 
legitimate,  265 ;  accession  of,  266 ; 
reign  of,  268 

Ferdinand  II,  king  of  Naples:  reign  of, 
269 

Ferdinand  HI,  king  of  Naples:  see  Fer- 
dinand V,  king  of  Spain 

Ferdinand  I,  king  of  Portugal :  reign  of, 
290 

Ferdinand  (I)  the  Great,  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile :  reign  of,  140 ;  defeats 
Bermudo  of  Leon,  200 

Ferdinand  II,  king  of  Leon:  reign  of, 
146 

Ferdinand  (III)  the  Saint,  king  of 
Leon  and  Castile:  birth,  100;  cam- 
paigns against  the  Moors,  102,  104; 
accession  to  throne  of  Castile, 
150;    accession    to    throne    of    Leon, 

151 

Ferdinand  IV,  king  of  Leon  and  Cas- 
tile: reign  of,  157 

Ferdinand  (V)  tlie  Catholic,  king  of 
Spain  (V  of  Castile,  H  of  Aragon, 
III  of  Naples)  :  negotiations  with 
the  Moors,  120;  accession  to  throne 
of  Aragon,   121,    T84,  268;   his  cam- 


INDEX 


561 


paigns  against  the  Moors,  122; 
marries  Isabella,  182;  accession  to 
throne  of  Castile,  183 ;  reign  of,  185 ; 
conquers  Navarre,  216;  accession  to 
throne  of  Sicily,  267 

Ferdinand  VI,  king  of  Spain :  reign  of, 
412 

Ferdinand  VII,  king  of  Spain :  intrigues 
of,  482,  485 ;  reign  of,  488 

Ferdinand  IV,  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies : 
accession  of,  414 

Ferdinand,  Don,  son  of  Alfonso  IV  of 
Aragon :  rebellion  of,  251 

Ferdinand,  infante  of  Portugal :  cam- 
paign of,  in  Africa,  305 

Ferdinand  of  Saxe-Coburg:  marries 
Maria  II  of  Portugal,  537 

Figuerola  y  Moracas,  Estanislao :  made 
minister  of  finance  in  provisional 
government,  510 

Foix,  Andre  de :.  attempts  to  restore 
Navarre  to  Henri  d'Albret,  349 

Foix,  Germaine  de :  marries  Ferdinand 
V  of  Spain,  190 

Foix,  Gaston,  Count  de :  death  of,  214 

Foix,  Matthieu,  Count  de :  claims  throne 
of  Aragon,  258 

Fontainebleau,  Treaty  of    (1807),  528 

Florida  Blanca,  Josef  Monino,  Conde  de : 
favors  American  rebellion,  416 

Flushing:  revolts  against  Spanish  rule, 
360 

Francis  I,  king  of  France :  opposes  elec- 
tion of  Charles  V  to  the  imperial 
throne,  343;  taken  prisoner  by 
Charles  V,  350 

Francis  de  Borgia,  St.;  consoles  Em- 
peror Charles  V,  352 

Francis  Xavier,  St.;  see  Francisco  de 
Xavier,  San 

h>ancisco  d'Assisi :  marries  Isabella  II 
of  Spain,  501 

Francisco  dc  Xavier,  San:  goes  to  India, 

435 
Frangois     Phccbus,     king     of     Navarre: 

reign  of,  215 
Franks :  invade  Spain,  26 
Fraza:  siege  of  (1134).  234 
Frederic   It,   king   of   Naples:    reign   of, 

269 
P'rederic  11.  king  of  Sicily:  at  war  with 

Jayme  II  of  Aragon,  248 


Frederick  William  III,  king  of  Prussia: 

signs  Peace  of  Tilsit,  485 
Fruela  (Froila)  I,  king  of  Asturias  and 

Leon :   reign  of,   131 
Fruela  (Froila)  II,  king  of  Asturias  and 

Leon :  reign  of,  i3t 
Fuentes  de  Onora:  battle  of  (1811),  530 


Gadalebi :  battle  of  the,  437 
Gades :  see  Cadiz 
Gaeta :  siege  of  (1435),  265 
Galba,    Servius    Sulpicius    (second    cen- 
tury B.  c.)  :  his  campaign  in  Spain, 

19 

Galba,  Servius  Sulpicius  (3  B.  C.-69 
A.  D.)  :  declared  emperor,  25 

Galiano:  leader  of  Spanish  revolution, 
492 

Gallicians    (Gallaici)  :    description    of.   Q 

Galvez,  Josef:  conquers  West  Florida, 
416 

Gama,  Estevan  de:  his  voyage  to  India, 
327;  viceroyal  of  tlie  Indies,  435 

Gama,  Francisco  dc  :  expels  Dutch  from 
the  Indian  seas,  459 

Gama,  Paulo  de :  suppresses  meeting 
against  Vasco  de  Gama,  325 

Gama,  Vasco  de:  his  voyage  to  India, 
325 ;  his  second  voyage  to  India, 
327  ;  death  of,  434 

Gama,  Vicente  Sodre  de:  his  campaigns 
in  India,  327 

Garces,  Garcia,  coiuit  of  Castile:  career 
of,  13S 

Garces,  Sancho,  count  of  Castile:  rebel- 
lion of,   138 

Garcia,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon : 
reign  of,  134 

Garcia,  king  of  Cialicia:  reign  c^f.  142 

Garcia  (1)  Sanclicz  (Garcia  Iniguez), 
king  of  Navarre :   reign  of,   195,  197 

Garcia  (11)  el  Trembloso,  king  of  Na- 
varre :   reign  of,   I99 

Garcia  HI,  king  of  Navarre:  accession 
of,  139;  deatli  of,  141 ;  reign  of,  200 

Garcia  (IV)  Ramirez,  king  of  Navarre: 
at  war  witli  .Mtonso  VTI  of  Leon. 
145;  reign  of,  2or  ;  acces^^ion  of,  235; 

Gaza :  battle  of,  205 

Cahwar  ben  Moliannncd,  caliph  of  Cor- 
dova :  reign  of,  85 


562 


INDEX 


Gensaleic:    usurps    throne    of   the   Visi- 
goths, 39 
Gerona:  siege  of  (1283),  246 
Gibraltar:  sieges  of  (1329),  112;  (1705), 

394;  (1779),  417 
Godov.    Manuel    de :    administration    of, 

481 
Gonsalo   de    Cordova,    Don:    career   of, 

269 
Gonsalves,  Alvaro :  death  of,  289 
Gosvinda,     queen     of     Leovigild :     her 

quarrel  with  Ingunda,  41 
Goths :  history  of,  35 ;  condition  of  the 

people  under,  53 
Granada:    conquest    of,    by    Christians, 

124;  battle  of  (1319),  159 
Granada,    Kingdom   of:    history   of,    104 
Granvelle,  Antoine  Pierrenot  de,  bishop 

of   Arras :    influences   Margarita   of 

Parma,  357 
Gregory   XI,    Pope :    upholds    rights    of 

daughter   of   Frederic   II  of   Sicily, 

Guiomar  de  Castro,  Dona :  her  relations 
with  Enrique  IV  of  Leon,  181 

Guise,  Frangois  de  Lorraine,  duke  of: 
his  campaign  against  the  Spanish  in 
Italy,  354 

Gunderic :  leads  the  invasion  of  the  Van- 
dals into  Spain,  35 


H 


Hairan,  hagib  of  Cordova:  at  war  with 
Solyman,  80;  deserts  Ali  ben 
Hamed,  81 

Hamed  ben  Mohammed,  king  of  East 
Morocco :  reign  of,  437 

Hamilcar  Barca:  his  career  in  Spain,  13 

Hannibal :  career  of,   14 

Hanno :  defeated  by  Scipio,  16 

Hanno,  son  of  Gisgo :  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Romans,  18 

Hasdrubal,  son-in-law  of  Hamilcar 
Barca:  his  career  in  Spain,  13 

Hasdrubal,  brother  of  Hannibal :  de- 
feated by  the   Scipios,   16 

Hasdrubal,  son  of  Gisgo :  defeated  bj' 
Martins,  17;  defeated  by  Scipio 
Africanus,    18 

Henri,  king  of  Navarre :  marriage  of, 
206;  reign  of,  207 


Henri   d'Albret:    claims   throne   of    Na- 
varre, 349 
Henri  of  Besangon,  count  of  Portugal : 

reign  of,  272 
Henrique,  king  of  Portugal :  regent  for 

Sebastian,  440;  reign  of,  447 
Henrique,  infante  of  Portugal :  scientific 

career    of,    304;    campaign    of,     in 

Africa,  305 
Henry  III,  king  of  England :  concludes 

treaty    with    Alfonso    X    of    Leon, 

152 
Henry   VII,   king   of   England:    detains 

Philip  the  Handsome  and  Juana  in 

England,  190 
Henry    II,    king    of    France :    concludes 

treaty    with    Emperor    Charles    V, 

351 
Henry  IV,  king  of  France:  at  war  with 

Philip  II  of  Spain,  356 
Henry :  see  Enrique 
Hermeric :    leads    the    invasion    of    the 

Suevi  into  Spain,  35 ;  reign  of,  2>7 
Hixem  (I)   ben  Abderahman,  surnamed 

Alhadi    Rhadi,    caliph    of    Cordova : 

birth  of,  68;  reign  of,  71 
Hixem    (II)    ben    Alhakem,    caliph    of 

Cordova :  reign  of,  78 
Hixem  III,  caliph  of  Cordova:  reign  of, 

82 
Horn,    Count :    arrested    and    executed, 

359 
Hunfrido :  see  Wifredo 
Husam     ben    Dhizar    surnamed     Abul- 

chatur :   subdues  rebellion  in   Spain, 

66 


Iberians :  earliest  inhabitants  of  Spanish 

peninsula,  3 ;  divisions  of,  10 
Ibrahim  Abu  Ishac  ben  Taxfin:  reign  of, 

97 
Ibrahim  ben   Yussef:   sent  against  Mo- 
hammed ben  Abdalla,  94 
Idatius :  persecutes  Priscillianists,  31 
Ifies  de  Castro,  Dona :  sketch  of,  286 
Ingunda:  marries  Ermenigcld,  41 
Innocent  III,  Pope :  demands  separation 
of  Alfonso  IX  of  Leon  and  Beren- 
garia  of  Castile,  148 
Innocent  IV,  Pope :  deprives  Sancho   1 1 
of  Portugal  of  his  royal  powers,  280 


INDEX 


563 


Inquisition:     introduced     into     Aragon, 

271;   introduced  into   Portugal,  439; 

reestablished  in  Spain,  488 
Invincible   Armada,   The:    see    Armada, 

The  Invincible 
Isabel  of  Portugal:  marries  Charles  V, 

350 
Isabel,  infanta  of  Spain:  marries  Albert 

of  Austria,  363 
Isabel    Farnese :    marries    Philip    V    of 

Spain,  404;  influence  of,  over  Philip 

405 

Isabel  Maria,  daughter  of  Joam  VI  of 
Portugal :   regent  of   Portugal,  535 

Isabella  I,  queen  of  Leon  and  Castile : 
negotiations  with  the  Moors,  120; 
at  the  siege  of  Malaga,  123 ;  marries 
Ferdinand,  182 ;  accession  to  throne 
of  Castile,  183 ;  reign  of,  185 ;  death 
of,  188 

Isabella  (II)  Louisa,  queen  of  Spain: 
birth  of,  496;  reign  of,  497 

Isabella  of  Castile,  daughter  of  Ferdi- 
nand V:  marries  Alfonso  of  Portu- 
gal, 312,  324;  marries  Manuel  of 
Portugal,  325 

Isabelle  de  Bourbon :  marries  the  prince 
of  the  Asturias,  375 

Isabelle  of  France:  marries  Thibault  II 
of  Navarre,  206 

Ismail  ben  Yussef:  revolt  of,  116 

Iviga:  siege  of  (1235),  241 


J.  K 

Jaen:  sieges  of  (1228-1230),  150;  (1245), 

105 
James  the  Elder,  St. :  introduces  Cliris- 

tianity  into   Spain,  31 
James  :  see  Jayme 
Japan:    first    approached    by    Europeans 

435 
Jayme    (I),    the    Conquistador,    kuig   of 
Aragon:    birth    of,    237:    campaigns 
against  the  Moors,  102,   T07;  named 
as   successor  to   Sanclio  VI   of   Na- 
varre, 204 ;  rciRn  of,  230 
Ja3'me  II,  king  of  Arayon  :  reic;n  of,  247 
Jayme,  king  of  Majorca:   joins  crusade 
against   Pedro   HI   of   Aragon,   24(); 
at  wax  with   Pedro   IV  of   Aragon, 
-'54 


Jayme,  Don,  son  of  Alfonso  IV  of  Ara- 
gon:  rebellion  of,  251 

Jayme  of  Aragon,  Don  :   revolt  of,  268 

Jean  d'Albret,  king  of  Navarre :  at  war 
with  Ferdinand  V  of  Spain,  192 ; 
reign  of,  216;  attempts  to  regain 
his  throne,  340 

Jeanne  I,  queen  of  Navarre:  reign  of, 
207 

Jeanne  II,  queen  of  Navarre:  reign  of, 
209 

Jena:  battle  of  (1806),  484 

Jesuits :  expelled  from  France  and 
Spain,  418;  influence  of,  in  Portugal. 
439;  expelled  from  Portugal,  418, 
472 ;  recalled  to  Spain,  496 

Jews :  persecuted  by  Sisebert,  44 ;  perse- 
cutions of,  inider  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  185 ;  massacre  of,  under 
Jeanne  II  of  Navarre,  209;  perse- 
cution of,  under  Manuel  of  Portu- 
gal, 336 

Joam  I,  king  of  Portugal :  does  homage 
to  Leonora,  292 ;  imprisoned,  294 : 
schemes  for  the  throne  of  Portugal. 
296 ;  made  re<-::ent  of  Portugal,  297 ; 
accession  co  throne.  299 

Joam  (II)  the  Great  and  the  Perfect, 
king  of  Portugal :  sends  out  expedi- 
tions to  the  New  World,  187:  his 
campaign  in  Africa,  316;  reign  of. 
318 

Joam    111,   king  of    Portugal:    reign    uf, 

433 
Joam     IV,    king    of     Portugal:     claini'^ 

throne  of    Portugal.  448;    plots    for 

the   throne.   456;   accession   of,  379; 

reign  of,  462 
Joam    V,    king    of    Portugal:    reign  of, 

470 
Joam    VT,    king    of    Portugal:    marries 

Carlotta  of  Spain,  418;  made  regent 

of  Portugal.  475;  reign  of,  525 
Joan,     queen     of     Naples:     marries     the 

count  de  la  Marclie,  261;  ajipeals  to 

tlie  king  of  Aragon    for  aid   against 

I'Vench.  262 
Jolm    XXI 1.    Pope:    grant-;    dispensation 

for  marriage  of  Pedro  I  (^f  Portugal 

and  Ines  de  Cri'-tro,  joo 
John:  see  Juan,  also  Joam 
Jomail  ben  Zeyan  :  rc\(ilt  of,  lOJ 
Jose,  king  of  Portugal:   reign  of.  471 


564 


INDEX 


Juan  I,  king  of  Aragon :  reign  of,  257 
Juan  II,  king  of  Aragon:  marries 
Blanche  of  Navarre,  261 ;  accession 
to  throne  of  Navarre,  263;  accession 
to  throne  of  Aragon,  265 
Juan  I,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile :  reign 
of,  172;  marries  Beatrix  of  Portu- 
gal, 291 ;  claims  throne  of  Portugal, 

295 

Juan  II,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile:  re- 
stores Mohammed  VII  to  throne  of 
Granada,  118;  aids  revolt  of  Mo- 
hammed ben  Ismail,  119;  reign  of, 
175 ;  his  relations  with  Alfonso  V 
of  Aragon,  263;  attempts  to  restore 
peace  between  the  Moors  and 
Duarte  of  Portugal,  309 

Juan  I,  king  of  Navarre:  reign  of,  212 

Juan  II,  king  of  Navarre:  see  Juan  II, 
king  of  Aragon 

Juan  I,  king  of  Portugal :  usurps  throne, 

173 

Juan,  infante  of  Spain :  claims  regency, 

158;  death  of,  iii,  253 
Juan  de  Lara,  Don :   claims  regency  of 

Alfonso  XI,  158 
Juan  el  Tuerto,  Don :  rebellion  of,  159 
Juan  of  Austria,  Don :  birth  of,  353 ;  at 

battle    of    Lepanto,    355 ;    appointed 

regent  of  the  Low  Countries,  361 ; 

his  campaign  against  the  Moriscos, 

371 ;  death  of,  361 
Juan  of  Austria,  Don   (b.  1629)  :  career 

of,     380;     at    war    with     Portugal, 

46s 
Juan  Manuel,  Don :  becomes  regent  for 

Alfonso  XI,    159;   influence   of,  285 
Juana,  queen  of  Castile :  reign  of,  188 
Juana,    queen    of    Spain:    acknowledged 

as  queen,  347;  death  of,  351 
Juana,  daughter  of  Emperor  Charles  V; 

marries  Joam,   infante  of  Portugal, 

439 

Juana  de  Castro,  Dona:  her  relations 
with  Pedro  the  Cruel,  162 

Jubiles :  massacre  of  (1568),  368 

Julian,  Count :  summons  the  Saracens  to 
Spain,  47 

Julius  II,  Pope:  requests  aid  of  Fer- 
dinand V  of  Spain,  192 

Junot,  Andoche :  his  campaign  in  Portu- 
gal, 527 

Kinsale:  battle  of,  375 


Lamego:  siege  of  (1057),  142 

Lanuza,  Juan  de :  made  regent  of  Ara- 
gon, 346;  puts  down  rebellion 
against  Charles,  348 

Lauria,  Roger  de :  his  campaigns  in  the 
Two  Sicilies,  245;  at  battle  of 
Rosas,  246 

Lazzara:  battle  of  (1702),  390 

Leander,  St.,  bishop  of  Seville :  urges 
Ermenigild  to  accept  Catholicism, 
41 ;  sketch  of,  59 

Leicester,  Robert  Dudley,  Earl  of:  his 
campaigns  in  the  Netherlands, 
362 

Leipsic:  battle  of  (1813),  486 

Leonora,  daughter  of  Alfonso  VIII  of 
Castile :  marries  Jayme  I  of  Aragon, 
240 ;  marriage  annulled,  243 ;  her 
quarrel  with  Pedro  IV  of  Aragon, 
250;  death  of,  253 

Leonora,   queen   of    Navarre:    reign    of, 

215 

Leonora,  queen  of  Portugal :  marries 
Ferdinand  I  of  Portugal,  291 ; 
acknowledged  as  queen,  292 ;  in- 
trigues of,  293 ;  taken  as  prisoner  to 
Spain,  298 

Leonora  of  Sardinia :  at  war  with  Pedro 
IV  of  Aragon,  256 

Leonora,  infanta  of  Portugal :  marries 
Pedro  IV  of  Aragon,  251 

Leonora  de  Guzman,  Dona :  her  rela- 
tions with  Alfonso  XI  of  Leon,  160, 
285 

Leopold  I,  Holy  Roman  emperor : 
claims  throne  of  Spain,  384 

Leovigild,  king  of  the  Visigoths :  reign 
of,  41 

Lepanto :  battle  of,  355 

Lepidus,  Marcus  /Emilius :  left  in  com- 
mand of  Spanish  province,  23 

Lerida :  battle  of,  22 

Ligny:  battle  of  (1815),  487,  532 

Lippe,  Count  de :  takes  command  of 
Portuguese  army,  473 

Lisbon :  captured  by  Alfonso  the  Chaste, 
72;   siege  of   (1147).  275 

Lisbon  Earthquake,  The   (1755),  471 

Liuva,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  43 

Logrofio:  battles  of  (1367),  167;  siege 
of  (1521),  349 


INDEX 


565 


Lorca :  battle  of,  69 

Louis,  king  of  Aquitaine:  campaigns 
against  the  Mohammedans,  219,  220 

Louis  XI,  king  of  France:  his  relations 
with  Juan  II  of  Aragon,  266;  his 
relations  with  Alfonso  V  of  Portu- 
gal, 317 

Louis  XII,  king  of  France:  concludes 
treaty  with  Ferdinand,  the  Catholic, 
270 

Louis  XIII,  king  of  France:  marries 
Ana  of  Spain,  375;  at  war  with 
Philip  IV  of  Spain,  378;  claims 
throne  of  the  Netherlands,  381 

Louis  XIV,  king  of  France:  marries 
Maria  Teresa  of  Spain,  379;  expels 
Jesuits  from  France,  419 

Louis  of  Nassau :  campaigns  of,  359 

Louis :  see  Luis 

Louisa,  infanta  of  Spain :  marries  Duke 
of  Montpensier,  501 

Louise  Isabelle,  daughter  of  the  Due 
d'Orleans :  marries  Luis  I  of  Spain, 
408 

Louisiana :  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
484 

Lucar:  battle  of,  515 

Luchana:  battle  of,  497 

Lucullus,  Lucius  Licinius :  his  cam- 
paign in  Spain,  19 

Luis  I,  king  of  Portugal :  reign  of,  538 

Luis  I,  king  of  Spain :  marries  Louise 
Isabelle,  408;  accession  to  throne, 
408 

Luneville,  Treaty  of  (1801),  483 

Lusitanians :  description  of,  9 

M 

Madagascar:  discovered  by  the  Portu- 
guese, 329 

Madrid:  captured  by  the  allies,  397 

Mafra,  Convent  of:  founded,  471 

Magalhanes  (Magellan),  Fernando  de : 
discoveries  of,  331 

Mago:  defeats  Publius  Scipio,  17;  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Romans,   18 

Maine:  blown  up,  519 

Malaga:  siege  of  (1488),  122 

Malagon  :  siege  of  (1212),  100 

Malta:  siege  of  (1565),  355 

Manila  Bay:  battle  of,  520 

Manuel  the  Fortunate,  king  of  Portugal : 


marriages   of,    187;    made   constable 

of    the     kingdom,     322;     reign    of, 

325 
Manuel      Philibert,      duke      of      Savoy: 

claims  throne  of  Spain,  448 
Marche,   Count   de   la:   joins   conspiracy 

against  Pedro  the  Cruel,  166 
Marck,  Count  de  la :  atrocities  of,  360 
Marcus    Aurelius:    condition    of    Spain 

under,  26 
Margall,  Pi  y:  president  of  the  republic, 

513 
Margarita,  queen  of  Martin  of  Aragon: 

marriage  of,  260 
Margarita    of    Parma:    sketch    of,    353; 

made  regent  of  the  Low  Countries, 

357 
Alaria   I,  queen  of  Portugal:   reign   of. 

474 
Maria   (II)    da  Gloria,  queen  of  Portu- 
gal :    reign    of,    535 ;    recognized    as 

queen,  536 
Maria,  daughter  of  Victor  Emmanuel  of 

Italy:   marries   Luis   I   of   Portugal. 

538 
Maria  Christina  of  Naples-  marries  Fer- 
dinand  VII   of   Spain,  49<);    regency 

of,  407,  517 
Maria   de    Padiila,    Dona:    her   relations 

with  Pedro  the  Cruel,  161  ;  death  of, 

165 
Maria  Teresa,  daughter  of  Philip  TV  of 

Spain:      marries      Louis      XIV     of 

France,  379 
Maria      Teresa       Magdalena      P>arhara, 

queeJi  of  Spain:  character  of.  413 
Marie  Amelic,  daugliter  of  the  comte  de 

Paris :  marries  Carlos  I  of  Portugal, 

539 
Marie  Louise  of  I'rance  :  marries  Carlos 

II  of  Spain,  ^H^y,  her  relations  with 

Godoy,  481 
Marnix,  Philip  de  :  leads  rebellion  in  the 

Low  Countries.  358 
Marriage:  laws  of  tlie  Goths.  >7 
Martin       IV,       Pope:       excoinniunicates 

Pedro  111  of  Ar;ig(i;i.  245 
Martin  V,  Pope:  grants  (lisco\ereil  lands 

to  Portugal,  304 
Martin,  king  of  .dragon:   reign  of,  258 
Martins.    Lucius:    his    c.unpai^ai    acjaiust 

Carthaginians,   17 
M.iry     I,    queen    of    England:     inarrit,-s 


566 


INDEX 


Philip  II  of  Spain,  351;  death  of, 
356 

Mascarenhas,  Pedro :  viceroy  of  the 
Indies,  434 

Massena,  Andre:  his  campaign  in  Span- 
ish peninsula,  530 

Matilda,  wife  of  Alfonso  III  of  Portu- 
gal :  abandoned  by  her  husband,  281 

Maura:  administration  of,  521 

Mauregato,  the  Usurper,  king  of  As- 
turias  and  Leon :  reign  of,  132 

Maurice  of  Nassau,  prince  of  Orange : 
assumes  leadership  of  Dutch  Pro- 
testants, 362;  his  campaign  against 
the  Portuguese,  460 

Mazarin,  Jules  Giulio :  favors  war  with 
Philip  IV  of  Spain,  378 

Medina-Sidonia,  Alonzo  de  Guzman, 
duke  of:  given  command  of  the 
Spanish  Armada,  364 

Melito,  Conde  de :  made  regent  of  Val- 
encia, 347 

Menezes,  Duarte  de :  his  campaign  in 
Africa,  316;  made  governor  of  the 
Indies,  33 1,  433 

Menezes,  Henrique  de :  viceroy  of  the 
Indies,  434 

Mequinencia:  siege  of  (1133),  234 

Merida:  sieges  of  (.713  A.  d.),  51;  (736 
A.  D.),  66 

Metellus  Pius :  his  campaign  in  Spain, 
21 

Methuen     Commercial     Treaty     (1703), 

52s 
Mexico:  sketch  of  the  history  of,  519 
Miguel,  Dom,  son  of  Joam  VI  of  Portu- 
gal :    intrigues   of,   534 ;    regency  of, 

535 
Milan  Decree  (1807),  485 
Milan,  St.    (St.   Aemilanus)  :  sketch  of, 

59 

Miles,  Nelson  Appleton:  his  campaign 
in  Porto  Rico,  520 

Mina,  Francisco :  leader  of  reform  move- 
ment in  Spain,  493 

Minas,  Marquis  das :  in  war  of  Spanish 
Succession,  393 

Miro,  count  of  Barcelona :  reign  of,  224 

Mohammed,  caliph  of  Cordova:  usurps 
throne  (1009),  79 

Mohammed  (I)  ben  Abderahman,  caliph 
of  Cordova  :  reign  of,  74 

Mohammed      (II)      ben      Abderahman, 


caliph    of   Cordova:    usurps   throne, 

81 
Mohammed    (I)    ben   Alhamar,  king  of 

Granada  :  accession  of,  103 ;  reign  of, 

104 
Mohammed  II,  king  of  Granada:  reign 

of,  109 
Mohammed   (III)   Abu  Abdalla,  king  of 

Granada:  reign  of,  no 
Mohammed    (IV)    ben    Ismail,   king   of 

Granada:  reign  of,  in 
Mohammed    (V)    ben    Yussef,    king   of 

Granada:  reign  of,  115;  aids  Pedro 

the  Cruel,  170 
Mohammed    (VI)    ben   Yussef,  king  of 

Granada:  reign  of,  117 
Mohammed  or  Muley  (VII)  ben  Yussef, 

surnamed     El     Hayzari,     king     of 

Granada:  reign  of,  118 
Mohammed    (VIII)    el   Zaquir,  king  of 

Granada:  reign  of,  118 
Mohammed    (IX)    ben   Osmin,   king  of 

Granada:   reign  of,   119 
Mohammed    (X)    ben    Ismail,    king    of 

Granada:    revolt  of,    119;   accession 

and  reign  of,  120 
Mohammed  Abu  Abdalla,  surnamed  Al- 

nassir,    Mohammedan    ruler :    reign 

of,  100 
Mohammed  Almoateded,  king  of  Seville  : 

reign  of,  86 
Mohammed   ben   Abdalla,   king  of  Car- 

mona :  at  war  with  Mohammed  ben 

Ismail  ben  Abid,  85 
Mohammed   ben    Abdalla :    rebellion    of, 

75 

Mohammed  ben  Abdalla :  rebellion  of, 
93 

Mohammed  ben  Abdalla,  surnamed  Al- 
mansor :  regent  of  Cordova,  78;  his 
campaigns  against  Leon,  138;  his 
conquests  in  Portugal,  272 

Mohammed  ben  Ferag:  revolt  of,   112 

Mohammed  ben  Gehwar,  king  of  Cor- 
dova :  reign  of,  86 

Mohammed  ben  Hamed :  leads  rebellion 
against   Portuguese   rule    in   Africa, 

333 

Mohammed  ben  Ilumeya :  proclaimed 
king  of  the  Moriscos,  367 

Mohammed  ben  Ismail  ben  Abid,  king 
of  Seville:  defeats  Yahia,  82;  as- 
sumes the  powers  of  royalty,  85 


INDEX 


56' 


Mohammed  ben  Mohammed,  king  of 
Cordova :  reign  of,  87 

Mohammed  ben  Mohammed,  king  of 
West  Morocco :  reign  of,  437 

Mohammed  ben  Yacub:  defeated  at 
battle  of  Tolosa,  148 

Moncada:  siege  of  (1234),  241 

Mondejar,  Marquis  of:  presents  com- 
plaints of  AToriscos  to  Philip  II, 
366 

Monscato :  battle  of,  393 

Montalvan:  captured  by  Pedro  II  of 
Aragon,  237 

Monteagudo,  Don  Pedro  Sanchez  de : 
regent  of  Navarre,  207 

Monterroso:  battle  of  (982  a.  d.),  137 

Montfort,  Simon  de :  his  crusade  against 
the  Albigenses,  238 

Montojo,  Admiral :  at  battle  of  Manila 
Bay,  520 

Montpensier,  Duke  of:  marries  Louisa 
of  Spain,  501 

Monzon:  siege  of  (1089),  232 

Moore,  Sir  John:  his  campaign  in  the 
Spanish  peninsula,  486,  529 

Moret:  forms  cabinet,  522 

Morillo,  Pablo:  quells  disturbance  at 
Madrid,  495 

Moriscos  :  revolt  of,  366 

Morocco :  siege  of,  97 

Moroto :  leader  of  Carlists,  498 

Mugueiz  el  Rumi :  besieges  Cordova,  50 

Munoz,  duke  of  Rianzares:  his  relations 
with  Maria  Christina  of  Spain,  499. 
501 

Muley,  king  of  Fez :  at  war  with  Alfonso 
V  of  Portugal,  316 

Muley,  king  of  Fez :  at  war  with  Mo- 
hammed ben  Mohammed,  438 

Muley  Abdalla:  sec  Diego  Lopez  ben 
Aboo 

Muley  Abdallah  ben  Mohammed,  king 
of  Morocco:  accession  of,  439:  reign 
of,  440 

Muley  Ali  Abul  Hassan  ben  Mohammed, 
king  of  Granada:  reign  of,   120 

Muley  Hamet  ben  Muley,  king  of  Mo- 
rocco: at  war  with  the  Portuguese, 
440;  accession  of,  44';  dethrdued, 
442  ;  death  of,  447 

Muley  Moluc  Abdelmelic,  king  of  Mo- 
rocco: flees  from  Morocco,  441; 
accession  to  throne,  442 


Murat,  Joachim :  invades  Spain,  485 ;  his 

campaign  in  Portugal,  527 
Murat :  battle  of,  238 
Musa    ben    Nozeir:    plans    conquest    of 

Spain,  48;   his  campaigns  in   Spain, 

51 
Muza  ben  Zeyad:  rebellion  of,  74 


N 


Napoleon     (I)     Bonaparte:     sketch    of. 

483.  527 
Narvaez,    General :    opposes    regency    of 

Espartero.  500;   second   ministry  of, 

S06 
Nassir    ben    Fcrag,    king    of    Granada: 

reign  of,  in 
Navarre,  Kingdom  of:  history.  194 
Navas  de  Tolosa :  see  Tolosa 
Nelson,    Horatio:    his   campaign    against 

the   Spanish   and   French   fleets.   484 
Nero:  condition  of  Spain  under,  25 
Nicholas    III,    Pope:   interferes   between 

Philip    of    France    and    Alfonso    of 

Leon,   155 
Nile:  battle  of  the  (179S),  483,  527 
Nimeguen,   Peace  of,  383 
Nivelle:  battle  of  the,  531 
Nolle,    Antonio:   discovers   the   Cape   de 

Verd  islands.  318 
Normatis  :  invade  Leon.  137 
Noronha,    Alfonso    de :    viceroy    of    the 

Indies,  436 
Noronha,      Antonio      de :      defeated      by 

Moors,    324;     atleni])t^    to    build     a 

citadel    at    the    nioutli    of    the    River 

Mamora,  334 
Noronha,    Garcia     de :     viceroy    of    the 

Indies,  435 
Numantia:  siege  of,  19 


o 


Obeidala.  Fatimitc  caliph:  be-icges  I'ez, 
76 

Ocb;i  ben   Albegriq  :   emir  ot   Spain.  65 

O'Donnell.  Henry  Jo>eph :  crusho  in- 
surrection against  l-'crdr.iand  \' 1  1 
of  Spain,  492 

O'Doinu'll,  Lcopoldo,  duke  of  i'viuan : 
conspires   a^aiiL-t    I>abel!a.   50 ) 


568 


INDEX 


Omar,  king  of  Badajoz :   dethroned,  90 

Olite:  founded,  44 

Olivares,     Count     of:     becomes     royal 

favorite,  376 
Olmedo:  battles  of  (1445),  178;   (1467), 

182 
Olosaga :    leader    of    conspiracy    against 

Isabella  II  of  Spain,  508 
Oporto:  siege  of  (1833),  536 
Oppas,    bishop    of    Toledo:    joins    Mo- 
hammedans  against   Christians,    129 
Oran:    sieges    of    (1145),    96;     (1509), 

192 
Ordoiio  I,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon: 

reign  of,  133 
Ordono  II,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon: 

invades    Mohammedan    possessions, 

76;    reign    of,     135;    aids    king    of 

Navarre,   198 
Ordono  III,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon; 

reign  of,  136 
Ordono  IV,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon : 

reign  of,  137 
Orguiva :  siege  of,  1569 
Ormond,  James  Butler,  duke  of   (1665- 

174s)  :  commands  expedition  against 

Cadiz,  390 
Orsini,  Princess  Anna  Maria :  sketch  of, 

387 ;  disgraced,  404 
Orthes:  battle  of,  531 
Ortiz    de    Zuniga,    Inigo,    governor    of 

Xeres :  refuses  to  poison  Blanche  de 

Bourbon,   165 
Otgar:  exploits  of,  218 
Othman :  favors  the  Franks,  64 
Othman:  revolt  of,  112 
Ourique:  battle  of  (1138),  96,  274 


Pacheco,  Diego-Lopes :  concerned  in  the 

murder  of  Ifies  de  Castro,  289 
Padilla,  Juam  de :  arrested,  346 
Palafox,     Joseph :     defends     Saragossa, 

489 
Palmella:  administration  of,  536 
Palmera:  battle  of  (1228),  240 
Pampeluna:    captured    by    Charlemagne 

70 
Pamplona:  siege  of  (907  A.  d.),  I97 
Paralada :  siege  of  (1471),  2G7 
Paris,  Peace  of  (1815),  532 


Parma,  Alessandro  Farnese,  duke  of: 
ordered  to  invade  France,  356 

Pascal  II,  Pope:  releases  Spain  from 
crusade  obligations,  90;  aids  Ray- 
mundo  III  of  Barcelona  against 
Mohammedans,  228 

Paul,  St.;  preaches  in  Spain,  31 

Paul  IV,  Pope:  opposes  Spanish  rule  in 
the  Two  Sicilies,  354 

Paul,  Duke:  rebellion  of,  45 

Pavia :  battle  of,  350 

Payva,  Alfonso  de :  explorations  of,  322 

Pedro  I,  king  of  Aragon  and  Navarre : 
accession  to  throne  of  Navarre, 
201 ;  accession  to  throne  of  Aragon, 
232 

Pedro    II,    king    of    Aragon:    reign    of, 

237 

Pedro  III,  king  of  Aragon:  marries  Con- 
stanta, 243 ;  reign  of,  243 

Pedro  IV,  king  of  Aragon :  reign  of, 
250 

Pedro  (I)  the  Cruel,  king  of  Leon  and 
Castile:  reign  of,  160;  his  relations 
with  Charles  II  of  Navarre,  210; 
at  war  with   Pedro  IV  of  Aragon, 

253 

Pedro  (I)  the  Severe,  king  of  Portugal: 
concludes  a  treaty  with  Pedro  the 
Cruel  of  Castile,  164;  relations  of, 
with  Ines  de  Castro,  286;  rebellion 
of,  288;  reign  of,  289 

Pedro  II,  king  of  Portugal:  joins  allies 
against  France  and  Spain,  392;  plots 
to  obtain  throne,  467 ;  made  regent, 
468;  reign  of,  469 

Pedro  III,  king  of  Portugal:  marries 
Maria  I  of  Portugal,  474 

Pedro  IV,  king  of  Portugal  (I  of  Bra- 
zil) :  accession  to  and  abdication  of 
throne  of  Portugal,  535 ;  resigns 
Brazilian  crown,  535 ;   death  of,  536 

Pedro  V,  king  of  Portugal :  reign  of, 
538 

Pedro,  son  of  Juam  I  of  Portugal : 
travels  of.  304 ;  made  regent  of 
Portugal,  311;  death  of,  314 

Pedro,  infante  of  Portugal  (d.  1466)  : 
at  war  with  Juan  II  of  Aragon,  266 

Pedro,  infaiite  of  Spain  :  claims  regency, 
158;  death  of,  11 1 

Pedro  de  Lara,  Don :  takes  command  of 
Spanish  forces,  144 


INDEX 


569 


Pedro  de  Menezes,  governor  of  Ceuta : 

heroism  of,  301 
PelayO;,    king    of    Asturias    and    Leon: 

lends    Christian    forces,    129;    char- 
acter of,  130 
Pepin  II,  king  of  Aquitaine:  revolt  of, 

221 
Pepin,     son    of    Charlemagne:     invades 

Navarre,  196 
Peralta,  Don  Pedro  de :  assassinates  the 

bishop  of  Pamplona,  214 
Perez,  Antonio :  persecution  of,  373 
Perez   de    Castro,    Fernando :    leader    in 

rebellion    against    Pedro   the    Cruel, 

163 
Perpenna,  Marcus  Vento:  joins  Sertor- 

ius  in   Spain,  21 ;   conspires  against 

Sertorius,  21 
Perpignan:  siege  of  (1473),  267 
Peru :     wins     her     independence     from 

Spain,  519 
Peter  (I)  the  Great,  emperor  of  Russia: 

forms    alliance    with    Philip    V    of 

Spain,  406 
Peter :  see  Pedro 
Peterborough,    Charles    Mordaunt.    F-arl 

of:  his  campaign  in  Spain,  394 
Petreius,     Marcus :     his     campaigns     in 

Spain,  22 
Petronilla,    queen    of    Aragon :    marries 

Raymundo    V    of    Barcelona,    228; 

reign  of,  235 
Philip   (III)    the  Bold,  king  of  France: 

declares  war  on  Alfonso  X  of  Leon, 

154;  grants  protection  to  Jeaime  of 

Navarre,  207 
Philip    (IV)    the   Fair,  king  of   France: 

his    crusade    against    Pedro    111    of 

Aragon,  246 
Philip   I,   king   of   Portugal:    see    Phiiip 

II,  king  of  Spain 

Philip   II,  king  of   Portugal:   see   Philip 

III,  king  of  Spaiii 

Philip  III,  king  of  Portugal:  sec  PlnHp 

IV,  king  of  Spain 

Philip  (I)  the  Handsome,  king  of  Loon 
and  Castile :  reign  of.  180 

Philip  II,  king  of  Spain:  birlh  of,  350; 
marries  Mary  of  I'Jigland.  351;  ac- 
cession to  throne  of  the  NetlH'rlaii<l<, 
351;    accession    to    throne    of    Spain, 


352 


reign    ot, 


aids    Sebastian 


of  Portugal  against  Mot)r-.  of  Africa, 


442;  claims  throne  of  Portugal,  448; 

acquires     the    throne    of     Portugal, 

366,  451 _ 
Philip   II,   king   of   Spain:    summary   of 

condition  of  Spain  under,  424 
Philip  III,  king  of  Spain:  reign  of,  374; 

summary     of     condition     of     Spain 

under,   426;    reign   of,    in    Portugal, 

455 
Philip  IV,  king  of  Spain:  reign  of.  376; 
summary     of     condition     of     Spain 
under,   427 ;    reign    of,    in    Portugal, 

Philip  V,  king  of  Spain  :  reign  of,  386 ; 
summary  of  condition  of  Spain 
tmder,  428 

Philippa,  queen  of  Portugal :  marries 
Joam  I,  299 

Phoenicians :  settle  in  Spain,  6,  12 

Pisuerga  :  battle  of  the.  142 

Pitt,  William,  earl  of  Chatham :  opposes 
Spanish  policies,  414 

Placidia :  marries  Ataulphus.  36 ;  re- 
stored to  the  Romans.  ^7 

Plantagenet,  Richard,  earl  of  Cornwall : 
elected  king  of  Germany.  153 

Poitiers:   battle  of    (507  a.  i),).  39 

Poitiers,  P.attle  of:  see  Tours.  Battle  of 

Pombal,   Marquis  of:   administration  of, 

473 
Pompeius,     Sextus :     his     campaigns     in 

Spain,  23 
Pompey     (Cneius     Pompeius     Magiuis) 

(106-48     B.C.):     his     campaigns     in 

Spain.  21 
Pompey      (Cneius     Pompeius     Magnus) 

(ca.    80-45    15- c.):    his    cainp;iign    in 

Spain,  23 
Portocarrcro,  Cardinal :  appointed  regent 

of   Spain,  385 
Portugal,     llist<iry    of:     see     Sj^riin    and 

Portugal,  1  listory  of 
Portuguese  Legion:  organization  of,  528 
Postluunus.    Marcus   Cas'^ianus   Latinus : 

his  campaigns  in   Spain.  26 
Prim.  Juain  :  opi)oses  regency  of  Fspar- 

tero,   500;    jfiins   revolutioni--ts,   508: 

made  minister  of  war  in  provisional 

government,    510 
Pri'^cilliani>ts  :   liere-y  of,  31 
Pyranuds    l'>attle  of  the    (I7'>'>),  4^3 
Pyreni'i-,    P.allles  (.f  the,  531 
Pvrenees  Treaty  of  the   (  165')),  370,  465 


570 


INDEX 


Q,  R 

Quadruple  Alliance,  The   (1718),  406 
Quadruple  Alliance,  The  (1834),  497 
Quatre  Bras:  battle   (1815),  487,  532 
Quiroga,    General :    leader    of    Spanish 

revolution,  492 
Rainucci,  prince  of  Parma:  claims  throne 

of  Portugal,  448 
Ramilies :  battle  of,  397 
Ramiro  I,  king  of  Aragon :  accession  of, 

140;  invades  Navarre,  200;  reign  of. 

231 
Ramiro  (II)  the  Monk,  king  of  Aragon: 

accession  of,  202 ;  reign  of,  235 
Ramiro  I,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon: 

reign  of,  133 
Ramiro  II,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon: 

reign  of,  136 
Ramiro  III,  king  of  Asturias  and  Leon: 

reign  of,  137 
Raymundo  I,  count  of  Barcelona:  reign 

of,  225 
Raymundo  II,  count  of  Barcelona:  reign 

of,  226 
Raymundo    (III)    the    Hairy,    count   of 

Barcelona:  reign  of,  226 
Raymundo     IV,     count     of     Barcelona: 

reign  of,  227 
Raymundo     (Raymond)     V,     count    of 

Barcelona :     concludes    treaty    with 

Alfonso  VII  of  Leon,  145 ;  at  war 

with    Navarre,    202,    203 ;    reign    of, 

228 ;  becomes  king  of  Aragon,  229, 

235 

Recared  I,  king  of  the  Goths :  his  cam- 
paigns in  Gaul,  42 ;  reign  of,  43 

Recared  II,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of, 

44  _ 
Receswind,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of, 

44 
Reformation,  The :  in  Holland,  356 
Revolution,  The  French :  effect  on  Spain, 

482 
Revolution  of  1820,  Portuguese,  534 
Revolution  of  1820,  Spanish,  493 
Revolution  of  1854,  503 
Rhodia:  see  Rosas 
Richard    I,    king    of    England :    marries 

Berengaria  of  Navarre,  203 
Richard,  earl  of  Cornwall :  see  Plantag- 

enet,   Richard 
Richelieu,  Armand  Jean  du  Plessis,  Car- 


dinal and  duke  of:  his  assassination 

plotted,  378 
Richiarius,    king    of    the    Suevi :    taken 

prisoner  by  the  Goths,  38 
Richilan,  king  of   the   Suevi:    reign   of, 

37 
Riego   y   Nunez    Rafael    del :   leader   of 

Spanish    revolution,   492;    death    of, 

495 
Rios,  Alontero :  administration  of,  522 
Ripperda,   Baron  de :   negotiates  treaties 

between  Philip  V  of  Spain  and  the 

emperor,  409 
Rivas,  Due  de :  administration  of,  504 
Roderic,   king  of  the    Goths :    reign   of, 

46 
Rodney,    Sir    George    Brydges:    defeats 

Franco-Spanish  fleet,  416 
Rodriguez,    Mendo :     attempts    to    save 

Pedro  the  Cruel  from  Enrique,  170 
Rojas,  Miguel  de :  death  of,  369 
Rome :  interferes  with  Carthaginian  rule 

in  Spain,  14 
Rooke,     Sir     George :     his     campaigns 

against    the    French    and    Spanish, 

394 
Rosas  (Rhodia)  :  founded,  12;  battle  of. 

246 
Roupinho,   Fuas :   his   campaign   against 

the  Mohammedans,  276 
Ryswick,  Peace  of  (1697),  384 


Saa,  Duarte  de :  governor  of  the  Muluc- 
cas,  437 

Sagasta,  Praxedes  Mateo :  administra- 
tion of,  516;  returns  to  power,  521; 
death  of,  521 

Saguntum  :  siege  of,  15 

St.  George  of  the  Mine:  growth  of.  322 

St.  Jean  Pied  de  Port:  siege  of  (1516), 
340 

St.  Quentin:  battle  of  (i5S7),  354,  355 

St.  Sebastian:  siege  of,  531 

Sala  ben  Sala :  at  siege  of  Ceuta,  301 ; 
at  siege  of  Tangier,  306 

Salado:  battle  of,  286 

Salamanca:  battle  of   (1810),  486.  530 

Saldanha,     General:     administration     of, 

537 
Salic    Law :    introduced    in    Spain.    403 ; 


INDEX 


571 


abolished     by     Ferdinand     VII     of 
Spain,  496 

Salmeron,  Nicolas :  president  of  tlie  re- 
public, 513 

Salomon,  count  of  Barcelona :  reign  of, 
223 

Salvatierre:  sieges  of  (1211),  100; 
(1704),  393 

Samail :  his  campaigns  in  Spain,  68 

Sampeyo  (Sam  Paio),  Lopo  Vaz  de : 
viceroy  of  the  Indies,  434 

Sampson,  William  Thomas:  at  battle  of 
Santiago,  520 

Sancho  (I)  Ramirez,  king  of  Aragon, 
(IV  of  Navarre)  :  invades  Andalu- 
sia, 90;  his  campaign  against  the 
Moors,  100;  accession  to  throne  of 
Navarre,  201 ;  reign  of,  231 

Sancho  (I)  the  Fat,  king  of  Asturias 
and  Leon :  reign  of,  137 

Sancho  (II)  the  Brave,  king  of  Leon 
and  Castile :   reign  of,   142 

Sancho  III,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile: 
reign  of,  146 

Sancho  IV,  king  of  Leon  and  Castile : 
rebellion  of,   155 ;   accession  of,    156 

Sancho  Inigo,  count  of  Bigorre  and  king 
of  Navarre :  reign  of,  195 

Sancho  I  (Garces  Abaraca),  king  of 
Navarre :   reign  of,   197 

Sancho  (II)  el  Mayor,  king  of  Navarre: 
invades  Leon,  139;  reign  of,  199 

Sancho  III,  king  of  Navarre:  reign  of, 
200 

Sancho  (IV)  Ramirez,  king  of  Navarre : 
see  Sancho  (I)  Ramirez,  king  of 
Aragon 

Sancho  V,  king  of  Navarre :  reign  r)f. 
203 

Sancho  VI,  king  of  Navarre :  reign  of, 
204 

Sanclio  I.  king  of  Portugal:  forms  al- 
liance with  Alfoii>()  IX  of  Leon, 
147;  his  campaigns  against  the 
Moors.  276:   reign  of,  2~J 

Sancho  11,  king  of  rortugal :  reign  of, 
279 

Sancho,  count  of  Ro;i->sillon :  rcgeiU  nl 
Aragon,  239 

Sancho,  brother  of  Onlt.no  111  of  Leon: 
revolt  of.   i.V) 

San    Pedro  <Ic  Clormaz  :   battle  of.    135 

San    Salvador:    -iege  of    (1624).  4^ 


Santa    Cruz,    Conde    de :    sends    expedi- 
tions against  pirates,  458 
Santarem:      battles     of      (1072),      143; 

(1184),  98 
Santiago  de  Cuba :  battle  of,  520 
Saracens :  invade  Spain,  46 
Sardinia:  revolt  of,  against  Aragon,  255; 

rebellion    of,    against    Martin    I    of 

Sicily,  258 
Sargossa:  captured  by  Charlemagne,  70; 

sieges    of    (1118),    92,    2iy,    (1808, 

1809),  489 
Sartorius,  count  de  San  Luis :  adminis- 
tration of,  503 
Scipio     Aemilianus :     his     campaign     in 

Spain,   19 
Scipio  Africanus,   Publius  Cornelius :  his 

campaigns  in  Spain,  18 
Scipio,  Cnaeus :  Iiis  campaigns  in  Spain, 

16 
Scipio,  Publius  Cornelius :  his  campaigns 

in  Spain,  16 
Sebastian,   king   of    Portugal :    birth    of, 

440;  reign  of,  440 
Seniofredo,    count    of    Barcelona:    reign 

of,  225 
Sepulveda :  battle  of,  144 
Serrano  y   Dominguez,   Francisco,   duke 

de    la    Torre:    joins    revolutionists, 

508;   made   president   of  provisional 

government,    510;    president    of    the 

republic,  513 
Sertorius,       Quiutus:       his       campaigns 

irgainst    Sylla,   20;    assassination    of. 

21 
Seville:  sieges  of  (713).  51;  (1247),  106; 

battle  of   (1015),  80 
Seville,  Treaty  of  (1729),  410 
Sibilla,  queen  of   Pedro   IV  of  Aragon: 

treatment  of,  by  Juan  I  of  Aragon, 

-'57 
Sidonia:  battle  of.   102 
Sigeric,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of.  36 
Silo,  king  of  Asturias  and   Leon  :    reign 

of,   131 
Silvela  :   niini>iry  of,  520;   second   lui-u's- 

try  of.  521 
Siinancas;  battle  of  ( ')39  a.  i).).  13O 
Si(incira,    Diogo    Lo])(.'S    di* :    made    go\- 

ernor  of  the  Indies.  331 
Si^fbert.    king    of    the    Goth';:    rvign    of, 

44 
Slavery  :    in  ancient   Spain.  },i 


572 


INDEX 


Scares,  Lope:  his  campaigns  in  the 
East,  328;  made  viceroy  of  India, 
330 

Soliman,  Pasha :  besieges  Diu,  435 

Solyman  I,  sultan  of  Turkey:  besieges 
Malta,  355 

Solyman,  caliph  of  Cordova :  reign  of, 
80 

Solyman  ben  Abderahman :  revolts 
against  Alhakem,  72 

Soria,  Marquis  de :  his  campaign  in  Por- 
tugal, 415 

Soult,  Nicolas  Jean  de  Dieu :  at  battle 
of  Corunna,  529 

Sousa,  Alfonso  de:  viceroy  of  the  In- 
dies, 435 

Spain  and  Portugal,  History  of:  early 
history,  3;  the  Romans  in  Spain,  16; 
political  and  religious  state  under 
the  Romans,  28;  history  of  the 
Goths,  35 ;  condition  of  the  people 
under  the  Goths,  53;  dominion  of 
the  Arabs,  63;  dominion  of  the 
Africans,  85 ;  kingdom  of  Granada, 
104;  the  Asturias,  Leon  and  Cas- 
tile, 129;  kingdom  of  Navarre,  194; 
counts  of  Barcelona,  218;  kingdom 
of  Aragon,  230;  establishment  of 
Portuguese  kingdom,  272 ;  the  house 
of  Austria,  339;  house  of  Bourbon, 
386;  general  condition  of  the  mon- 
archy, 421 ;  last  of  the  ancient 
dynasty  in  Portugal,  433 ;  house  of 
Braganza,  462;  events  of  the  critical 
era  of  Spain  to  the  close  of  the 
first  Carlist  war,  479;  last  years 
of  Maria  Christina,  and  the  era  of 
Queen  Isabella  II,  499;  the  brief 
reign  of  Amadeus,  and  the  Bour- 
bon restoration,  510;  events  in  Por- 
tugal to  the  close  of  the  Peninsular 
War,  525;  growth  of  the  consti- 
tutional monarchy  in  Portugal, 
533 

Spanish-American  war,  520 

Spanish  Era,  24 

Stephanie  of  Hohenzollern :  marries 
Pedro  V  of  Portugal,  538 

Succession,   War  of   Spanish,  390 

Suevi :   invade  Spain,  26 

vSuleiman :    see    Solyman 

Suniario,  count  of  Urgel :  regent  of  Bar- 
celona, 225 


Suwarrow  (Suvarrau),  Count  Alexan- 
der: his  campaigns  in  Italy,  527 

Swintila,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  44 

Syr  ben  AH  Bckir:  his  campaigns  in 
Spain,  89 

Syracuse:  siege  of   (1298),  248 


Tadmir:  see  Theodomir 
Tafalla:  siege  of  (1035),  231 
Talavera:    battles    of    (918   a.  d.),    135; 

(1811),  486,  530 
Tangier:  siege  of  (1437),  306 
Tarifa:  siege  of  (1340),  113 
Tarik    ben    Zeyad :     his    campaigns     in 

Spain,  48 
Taxfin    ben    Ali :     made    governor     of 

Spain,  95 ;  reign  of,  96 
Tello,  Don,  brother  of  Pedro  the  Cruel : 

rebellions  of,   164;   at  battle  of  Lo- 

grono,  168 
Temin,  brother  of  Ali :  death  of,  233 
Temim  ben  Yussef :  his  campaign  against 

the    Christians,    91 ;     his    campaign 

against  Mohammed  ben  Abdalla,  94 
Templars,  Knights :  suppression  of,  158, 

249 
Teresa  of  Portugal :  marries  Alfonso  IX 

of  Leon,  277 
Tetuan :  battle  of,  507 
Thalaba  ben    Salema:    his    campaign   in 

Spain,  65 
Theobald :  see  Thibault 
Theodomir      (Tadmir),      king     of     the 

Goths :    defeated    by    the    Saracens, 

48;  reign  of,  50 
Theodored,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of, 

Theodoric   I,   king   of   the   Goths,    reign 

of,  38 
Theodoric  II,  Gothic  king:  his  campaign 

in  Spain,  39 
Theudis,  king  of  the  Goths :  administers 

government  of  Spain,  39;  accession, 

40 
Theudisel,  king  of  the  Goths:  reign  of, 

40 
Thilxiult  I   (count  of  Cliampagne),  king 

of  Navarre :  reign  of,  205 
Thibault  II,  king  of  Navarre:  reign  of, 

206 


INDEX 


573 


Thorismtind,   king  of  the  Goths :   reign 

of,  38 
Tiberius :  condition  of  Spain  under,  25 
Tilsit,  Peace  of  (1807),  485 
Timur  ben  Balkin,  king  of  Malaga:  de- 
throned, 89 
Titus :  condition  of  Spain  under,  26 
Toledo:  sieges  of  (713  a.  d.),  51;   (736 

A,    D.),    66;     (854-859    A.    D.),    74; 

(1083),  143;  battle  of  (1176).  98 
Tolosa:  battle  of   (1212),   loi,   148,  204, 

238 
Tortosa:     sieges    of     (804    A.  d.)^    220; 

(1147),  236 
Toulouse:  battle  of   (1814),  486,  532 
Tours,  Battle  of  (Battle  of  Poitiers),  65 
Trafalgar  Bay:  battle  of  (1805),  484 
Trajan:  condition  of  Spain  under,  26 
Tremecen  :  battle  of,  96 
Trimumpara,  governor  of  Cochin :  forms 

alliance    with    Manuel    of    Portugal, 

326 
Tulga,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  44 


Victor  Asmodeus  (Victor  Amadeus),  of 

Savoy,    king    of    Sicily:    joins    the 

allies  against  Spain,  407 
Vienna,      Council      of:      abolishes      the 

Knights  Templars,  249 
Vienna,  Treaty  of   (1735),  410 
Vieyra,  Martin :  treason  of,  307 
Villadarias,   Francisco  de  Castilla,   Mar- 
quis  of:    attempts   to  defend   Cadiz, 

391 
Villaragnt,  Dofia  Carraza:  promotes  the 

follies     of     the     Aragonese     court, 

258 
Villaverdi :  ministry  of,  521 
Villaviciosa:     battles     of     (1657),     466; 

(1664),  379 
Vittoria:  battle  of  (1813).  486,  488 
Vimeiro:  battle  of  (1808),  486 
Violante,   queen  of  Juan   I   of  Aragon : 

conduct  of,  258 
Viriatus :     his     campaigns     against     the 

Romans,  19 
Viseu :     sieges     of     (1027),     139,     272; 

(1057),  142,  272 


U,  V 

Ucles :  battle  of,  91 

Urban    VT.     Pope:     opposes    Juan    of 

Portugal,  173 
Urgel :  siege  of   (1091),  384 
Urgel,  Count  de :  claims  the  throne   of 

Aragon,  260 
Urraca,    queen    of    Leon    and    Castile : 

reign  of,   143;  marries  Alfonso  I  of 

Aragon,  233 
Utrecht,  Peace  of  (1713),  401 
Val  de  Junquera :  battle  of   (921   a.  d.), 

135,  198 
Valencia:    siege    of    (i2.mS),    242:    rises 

against  the  nobles  and  clergy,  34^^ 
Valor:  battle  of   (1569),  370 
Varro,  Marcus  Terentius :  his  campaign 

in  Spain,  23 
Vascones :  description  of.  8 
Velasquez,     Rodrign :     enconrages     Mo- 
hammedans to   invndc   Leon,   138 
Venice:    at    war    with    Turkey     (1570). 

355 
Veremundo :  see  Bcrnnulo 
Vespasian :    condition    of    Spain    under, 

26,  28 
Vicalvaro:  battle  of  (i<S54),  504 


W 


Wallia,  king  of  the  Goths :  reign  of,  36 
Wamba,  king  of  the  Goths:  reitjn  of,  45 
Waterloo:  battle  of  (1815),  487.  532 
Wellington,  Arthur  Wellcsley.  Vis- 
count :  his  campaign  in  Spanisli  pen- 
insula, 486,  528 
Weylcr,    Valeriano:    his    administratioji 

in  Cuba,  519 
Wifrcdo    (Hunfrido)    T,   coimt   of    Bar- 
celona :  reign  of,  222 
Wifrcdo    11,   count   of    Barcelona:    reign 

of.    224 
Wil'ielm,   cniuit   of    [Barcelona:    attempts 

to  gain  his  fief,  222 

Willfkcns:   conquers    San    Salvador,   4CX-) 

William,   prince  of  Orang-- :   .attempts  to 

gain  the  regency  of  tlv  Low  Ci  iri^ 

tries,  357;  campni.gn>  of.  350:   made 

governor     of     the     Low     Countries, 

360;  death  of,  361 

William  Loni,'sword  :  at  ^iege  f>f  Lisbon, 

-7.T 
Witcric,  king  of  tlte  Goths:   reign  of.  43 
Witiza.  king  of  the  Goths:   reign  of,  46 
Women  :  condition  of,  in  ancient  Spain,  5 


574 


INDEX 


X,  Y,  Z 

Xativa:  battle  of  (i347),  252 

Xavier,  San  Francisco  de :  see  Fran- 
cisco de  Xavier,  San 

Xenil:  battle  of  the,  ^7 

Xeres  de  la  Frontera :  battle  of,  49 

Xerifs :  rise  of,  333 

Xucar:  battle  of  the,  21 

Yacub  ben  Yussef,  surnamed  Alman- 
sor,   Mohammedan   ruler:    reign   of, 

99 
Yahia  Alkadia,  king  of  Toledo :  reign  of, 

Yahia  ben  Anasir :  attempts  to  usurp 
Moorish  throne,  102 

Yahia  ben  Edris,  sovereign  of  Fez:  be- 
sieged by  Obeidala,  76;  made  caliph 
of  Cordova,  82 

Yahia  ben  Tafut :  his  campaigns  against 
the  Xerifs,  334;  death  of,  335 

Yoland  of  Hungaria :  marries  Jayme  I 
of  Aragon,   243 

Yussef  (I)  Abu  Yacub,  sovereign  of 
Mohammedan  Spain :  campaigns  of, 
in  Andalusia,  98;  reign  of,  98,  loi ; 
invades  Portugal,  277 

Yussef  (II)   Abu  Abdalla  ben  Moham- 


med,   king    of    Granada:    reign    of, 

117 
Yussef    (III)    ben   Mohammed,  king  of 

Granada:  reign  of,  117 
Yussef  Abul  Hegiag  ben  Ismail,  king  of 

Granada:  reign  of,  113 
Yussef    ben    Taxfin :    his    campaigns    in 

.    Spain,  88 
Yussef  ben  Zeragh,  hagib  of  Granada: 

wisdom  of,  118 
Yussuf:  refuses  to  acknowledge  Abder- 

ahman  as  caliph,  67;  leads  rebellion, 

69 

Yussuf     ben     Amru :     tyranny     of,     in 
Toledo,  yT, 

Zalaca :  battle  of,  88 

Zamora :  battle  of,  134 

Zayd  Aben  Kesadi :  besieges  Malaga,  50 

Zeid  ben   Cassim :   assassination   of,  74 

Zeyad,    wali    of    Barcelona ;    career    of, 
219 

Zoraya,  wife  of  Abul  Hassan :  leads  re- 
bellion, 121 

Zorilla,  Manuel  Ruiz :  made  minister  of 
commerce     in     provisional     govern 
ment,     510;     prime-minister     under 
Amadeus,  512 

Zumalacarregui :  successes  of,  497 


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